Killer Wave (2007)

Killer Wave is the aptly named television miniseries that takes a look at the destruction that can result from a tsunamis. It aired in August on the Ion network; I watched it on DVD.

The concept is not a bad one. A large wave hits the South Jersey shore, and scientists are seeing a trend of waves coming from the Arctic circle. Kind of seriously unusual for the Atlantic Ocean, no? They start to round up the usual suspects, and of course point the finger solidly at global warming, after all what else could it be? Angus McFayden adequately plays John McAdams, not to be confused with the second president, and is currently a retired scientist that now ekes out a living on writing thriller novels that aren't selling too well. He is pulled off the bench, and pressed into duty to help solve this global crisis.

Unfortunately, the plot moves along at a snail's pace. At almost three hours, half of it needed to end up on the floor, and there was probably a film worth watching in the remains. Seriously, there were multiple points of plot stall, and "no forward motion of the plot," as I like to dub it for extended periods. This type of film is hardly an in depth character study, so I'm not sure why so much fluff, to the total detriment of the overall film.

In its defense, if you watch the first half hour, and the last half hour, then this film is not half bad, and least watchable. The end played out like a 70's era cop show finale, complete with shootout, and a foiled attempt at world domination (insert Dr. Evil laugh track here). Still, unless you're a serious fan of plots centering around ecoterrorism, reminding me of this novel, than I would recommend steering clear of this Killer Wave.

Overall Grade: C-

Reviewed by Jonas

On Our Second Anniversary...

Wow! Another year down, and it's been a busy one here on The Armchair Critic. Ever since our first post, we've been endeavoring to entertain, educate, and impart useful information that you can't find anywhere else on the entire internet. Here's my view of how our sophomore effort went.

Quite well in the end. Despite the loss of one of our more prolific writers who needed to move on to other endeavors, we still managed over 300 posts in 2007, up from under 200 the year before. Special thanks to Jeff, Jim, and Scott for their regular and high quality output. I'd also like to give an honorable mention to Rachel for her annual contribution expertise, and Armchair Newcomer Ian who brings his youthful viewpoint. Only as a team can this all succeed, and we've assembled a first rate one.

This internet game is all about links, and we've done much better this year than last. In fact, the prestigious Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has been routinely picking up our content. Also, movie site Popcorn Monsters carries our reviews as well. This among other links this year gets us the exposure that we need.


With exposure comes traffic. From the chart we can see that our traffic has essentially doubled most months compared to last year- not the easiest thing to do amidst more and more sites all competing for your eyeballs. Thanks again to all that stop by, and make us your destination for the most opinionated reviews out there on a wide variety of topics. We look forward to another successful year!

Jonas
Webmaster

Hollow Man (2000)

Hollow Man is one of those films that I kept missing for the last several years, and I finally got around to watching it. It's a Sci-Fi thriller that borders on a B-rated monster movie flick at times, but successfully skirts the line. It stars Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue.

The story is that a group of scientists are working on an invisibility protocol for the military. They think they can make people invisible by phase shifting them. The team is led by Dr. Sebastian Caine (Bacon). After some initial success in animal models, they decide to "take it to the next level" and make Caine invisible, in the grand tradition of testing a great scientific advancement on yourself first. While the invisibility works well, unfortunately the reversal doesn't go according to plan. Next thing we know, we have Caine racing around the lab invisible, spying on his coworkers, and creating problems for all concerned.

The special effects were very well done throughout the film. When the invisible man splashes himself with water, it looks quite realistic. Also, the anatomy they showed during the transformation looked quite accurate.

Unfortunately, yet again, I did find another medical error. At one point, one of the scientists gets a penetrating injury to the left lower abdomen. The other scientist looks as the trauma, says it's not that deep, and duct tapes him up. Two issues here folks. First, from when the crowbar was embedded in, it looked pretty deep. In this type of injury (essentially an abdominal stab wound) it would require an exploration of the wound to assess for fascial violation to assess the need for exploratory surgery (laparotomy). This would also involve palpating the fascia in the assessment to see if it was intact, which they didn't do. The second issue is that then they tape up the wound with duct tape. First of all, with a bleeding wound, the tape won't stick with the gushing blood (and they didn't even dry it first). A few scenes later we see him climbing up a ladder, duct tape and all, like nothing happened. This is pretty implausible.

Overall, I did enjoy Hollow Man. Medical nitpicks aside, it had some of the better special effects than I've seen, and while the plot is not too deep, at least it does have one. If you're looking for some Sci Fi cinema, than Hollow Man is for you.

Overall Grade: B

Reviewed by Jonas

Ghostwriters, Political Animal (Sony/BMG, 2007)

Ghostwriters started in 1991 as a side project for Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rob Grossman. Even though Midnight Oil broke up in 2002 and the Gurus have had an extended hiatus as well (they did re-unite in 2004), the Ghostwriters reconvene only occasionally. Political Animal, the fourth Ghostwriters album, is primarily a compilation, with four new songs followed by remixes of older material.

The singing and songwriting in Ghostwriters are done almost entirely by Hirst. Hirst also plays more guitar than drums on this CD -- like Phil Collins and Dave Grohl, he discovered that it's hard to front a band from behind the kit, no matter how good of a drummer you happen to be. Drummer Lee Moloney and guitarist/keyboardist D.C. are carryovers from the last Ghostwriters CD Fibromoon (from 1999), and Midnight Oil guitarist Martin Rotsey has just been added as well.

The opening song and single "Start the Day" is a hard-edged diatribe about current political events, in keeping with the kind of songs Hirst wrote for Midnight Oil. The other strong new track is "Follow the Leader," which could be about the Australian people's acceptance of the Prime Minster John Howard's government as Howard led them off a cliff, or possibly about Howard's eagerness to fall in line with President Bush's agenda. (Since this album was made, not only did Howard's party lose its majority in Parliament in a general election, causing Labor party leader Kevin Rudd to take Howard's place as Prime Minister, but Howard couldn't even win re-election to the seat in his home district. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and the Arts in Rudd's new Cabinet is Peter Garrett, whom Hirst and Rotsey know very well.)

There is always a bit of a danger to mixing new material with old material, though, because the new material has to justify the purchase of the full CD to long-time fans. And indeed, the four new songs aren't quite as good as what follows. Five songs are taken from the Ghostwriters' strongest album, 1997's Second Skin. Classic songs like "Impossible Shame" and "Not My Time" are on the same level as Midnight Oil's best songs. Of course, it's very tempting to wonder how these songs would have sounded if Hirst had brought them to the Oils. Only one song each from the first Ghostwriters album and Fibromoon were re-mixed for inclusion on this CD. The album does include as a bonus track the original version of "Someone's Singing New York, New York," the very first Ghostwriters' single.

Political Animal is not an easy album to rate. On one hand, the new material by itself would warrant a B or B+. Most people in the U. S. are entirely unfamiliar with the Ghostwriters' back catalog, though, and even I've had to make do with a taped copy of Second Skin. So for practical purposes, Political Animal might as well be treated as an album of wholly new material for listeners in this country, and I've decided to rate it accordingly.

Overall grade: A

reviewed by Scott

Life On Mars

Police dramas and police mysteries are nothing new to television -- unless the mystery is what's going on with the police! The very British series Life on Mars defies easy classification with its protagonist's mysterious situation.

In 2006, detective Sam Tyler (John Simm) is on a case when he's hit by a car (as David Bowie's "Life on Mars" plays in the background). When Sam wakes up, he's all better, wearing a leather jacket -- and in 1973. He has a life there -- car, apartment, history -- and a new job: the new Detective Inspector for a local police precinct. His boss Gene (Philip Glenister) is an old-style policeman who's not averse to beating up or framing suspects to get the "right" thing done. His friend Annie (Liz White) is the attractive friend who's Sam only confidante as to where he came from.

But what's happened to Sam? Sometimes signals seem to leak in from 2006: voices of relatives, people speaking about Sam as if he's in a coma. A creepy little girl shows up from time to time, offering cryptic clues. And at the start of the second and final season, Sam is getting messages claiming that "they" are working on bringing him home. In the meantime, Sam doesn't know if he's in a coma, insane, or a time traveler -- but he keeps trying to do the right thing, in the hopes that it'll bring him home.

Life on Mars is a very clever show. There are plenty of anachronisms uttered by Sam, but there's also a sense of desperation as he tries to figure out what's happening to him and how to get back. Many of the situations in the past parallel what's happened to Sam in the present, and John Simm makes Sam a rich character: a decent guy trying to survive and figure things out in a world that may not exist. Most of the other characters are pretty one-dimensional (except for Gene, a brutal flawed man who still believes he's doing good) and exist to support Sam's plight. And with Life on Mars wrapping up after only two seasons, the show resists becoming too gimmicky or wearing out its novelty -- a lesson the people behind Lost should take to heart.

Overall grade: A-

Reviewed by James Lynch

The Hostage (2005)

Once again, I turn my attention to author WEB Griffin, the "poet laureate of the military." Having finished The Corps series, The Brotherhood of War series, and most recently, the Honor Bound series, it was time to turn my attention back to his most recent series, the Presidential Agent one. My entry into this one was less than spectacular, with By Order of the President, but after an extended hiatus of a year, I was determined to press on, and I'm glad I did.

The Hostage is a much stronger novel than its predecessor. With the background information out of the way, full force can go into the storytelling, with a few occasional side trips, such as why an American WW I General's statue is outside of a European embassy. The protagonist is again Major Charley Castillo, a first rate hero. While his role was less defined previously, he now is attached to the Department of Homeland Security under some cover division. He really is at the order of the President to get the job done, and cut through the bureaucracy. Increasingly, Castillo reminds me of Scott Harvath from the Brad Thor novels.

That said, this time out, he has his work cut out for him. A US diplomat has been murdered, and his wife taken hostage in Argentina, and the clock is ticking to find her with not . At points, there are plenty of references to places in Argentina that get referred to in other Griffin novels, so this kind of felt like going back to the old neighborhood (there's also a curious reference to an old, twin engine plane that fits the description of Lowell's from The Brotherhood of War series, but not specific enough to know if it's of any significance).

As the story unfolds, we get a glimpse into the corruption that went on during Iraq's "Oil for Food" program. In the end, while some poor Iraqis got some meager food, the administrators took more than their reasonable cut of the profits.

What we end up with is an international thriller, centered around Argentina, with multiple stops in Europe and in the United States. The prose is sharp, and this is quintessential Griffin. It still is not my favorite novel by him, but it's a big step up from the series. I'm looking forward to The Hunters, which is currently his latest book.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas

The Treatment (2006)

Psychoanalysis is as New York as the Statue of Liberty, street vendors selling pretzels and hot dogs, and Broadway theater. In this film, The Treatment, we get a front row seat on one guy's neuroses from living in the Big Apple, his therapist's attempt at help, and how he attempts to move on.

Chris Eigeman plays Jake Singer, an English teacher at a posh, private Manhattan high school. In front of his class, or coaching the basketball court, he is confident, and self assured. Out of the school, he is anything but. Working through this won't be easy, and actor Ian Holme, as Dr. Ernesto Morales, a flamboyant Argentinian who describes himself as "the last of the great Freudians," is there to work though the teacher's many issues. Unfortunately, it seems that no one ever gets discharged from the psychoanalyst's practice, and I wonder if his aim is anything but monetary as the film progresses. Along the way, Singer develops a relationship with a student's Mom, Julia (actress Stephanie March), that will either complicate things even further, or be be the thing that straightens it all out.

Overall, The Treatment suffers from a lack of budget. There are no big name stars turning in an award winning performance. They don't use the icon's of Manhattan to bring us a presence of place within "the City," and use the energy and frenetic pace of NYC as another character. In addition, it can't decide if it wants to be more of a romantic comedy, or a more serious film. Finally, this movie just kind of ends, and on a flat note at that, leaving the audience to wonder how this all turned out. I think another few minutes could have brought us to more of a conclusion, and a real sense of finality. In the end, The Treatment gets a thumbs sideways as to whether you should see it or not.

Overall Grade: B-/C+ (it's really right on the line)

Reviewed by Jonas

PS: I wanted to point out that this makes our 200th movie review, and that's quite a bit of popcorn consumed!

Talk To Me (2007)

Ahhh, the stormy sixties. Talk To Me Focuses on the end of the 60's in Washington, DC, and the role that Petey Greene, ably portrayed by Don Cheadle, plays during this turbulent time. Martin Sheen plays the radio station owner, and Cedric the Entertainer is fellow DJ, Bob "Nighthawk" Terry.

Greene is down on his luck- big time. He was in prison for armed robbery, and had to overcome drug addiction. His one attribute is his big mouth, and he puts it to use in prison as their DJ. After he gets out early from the slammer, after talking a prisoner down (which he sent up in the first place), he fast talks himself into a position at the local DC radio soul station, WOL (these days he would probably do a podcast...). While his fellow DJ's are content to just spin the discs, his knack for "telling it like it is" resonates well with the local urban community, and he becomes a success story. Along the way, programming director, Dewey Hughes (actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (say that one ten times fast!)), has to shield Greene and his developing "P-Town" from the radio station owner. Greene also plays a pivotal role during the riots that ensued after Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination in calming the masses down, and avoiding further loss of life and destruction to DC.

I enjoyed Talk To Me. It is well acted, and told a story with a beginning, middle, and even an end, which I guess we can't take for granted anymore. Along the way, there is even some character development, and the period soul songs don't hurt one bit to keeping the entirety authentic and moving. If you want a film that's not the same old thing, than Talk To Me will likely fit the bill.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas

Transformers (2007)

At least in my mind, Transformers was the closest thing we had to a summer blockbuster in 2007. I don't know about you, but we always had plenty of the Transformer toys around the house when the 80's show was so popular. About the most exciting thing about those toys was to switch them from their car to their robot forms. You'll recall, it went something like this, "Great, it's a car, no wait, it's a robot, and cool, it's a car again," all to the cool sound effects. It was with this fond memory that I went ahead and watched Transformers.

After over two hours, my view is that this film has some really spectacular special effects, but no real story to tell. At times, it is quite visually interesting, and probably the best special effects I have seen on the big screen for quite some time. Through computer generated animation, the robots seem as real as the actors throughout the movie.

However, along the same lines as Scott's review of Radiohead's latest effort, it's simply not enough to create a satisfying experience. Great special effects are merely one ingredient to an awesome blockbuster experience, and sadly Transformers is lacking in every other department. Engaging dialogue? Plot twists and turns? Overall theme? Believable characters? Character development? Relating an experience? Sadly, this film doesn't delve into any of these things. In addition, the old Transformer cartoons had more of a story to tell to my best recollection, and they were only a half an hour- with commercials!

Unbelievably, Transformers made over 700 million bucks worldwide, so I'm sure there is a sequel in the works. Perhaps next time, they can devote a few bucks to the screenplay, and not all to the special effects. It's really a missed opportunity that they couldn't put those great special effects to better use.

I'm also deducting a half grade for overuse of product placement throughout the movie; there's already enough advertisements at the theater IMHO without having it constantly throughout the film like a pop up ad I can't get rid of.

Overall Grade: C

Reviewed by Jonas

We Are Marshall (2006)

How many more football movies can you make? I saw the DVD box, and figured We Are Marshall was Remember the Titans one more time. While that wouldn't be a bad thing, per se, what I ended up getting was a film with some more depth than the usual winning touchdown pass that characterizes such films of the football genre.

The story focuses on the aftermath of a plane crash involving the football team of Marshall University. This school, in Huntington, West Virginia is the prototypical college town where weekends in the Fall the whole town lives, eats, and breathes football. One tragic November day in 1970, a plane crash kills almost the entire football team, as well as most of the coaches, and some of the biggest fans. There were 75 killed in all, as the plane attempted to land under foggy conditions.

While such a loss of life is totally tragic, what makes it even more tragic is that the entire town, so previously focused on football, gets stuck on this, and can't move on. They even decide to disband their beloved football, and not to field a team for the upcoming season. The real story of We Are Marshall is the triumph of the human spirit in the face of such overwhelming tragedy.

Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengyel, the deceptively simple coach that takes on the coaching job, that no one else would even touch, to rebuild Marshall University's Herd. He fields his team with Freshman (which required a waiver from the NCAA), the very few remaining players, and athletes from other sports. He is realistic, and knows that while winning is everything to some, at least for this town, at this time, just playing the game will be enough of a start.

I enjoyed We Are Marshall, and think it should appeal to more than just football fans. It also features "The Unit's" Robert Patrick as the former head coach, and "Lost's" Matthew Fox as the assistant coach which both turn out decent performances. While it's more of a downer than a stand up and cheer, this tale of death, and rebirth is one that should not be forgotten.

Overall Grade: B+

Reviewed by Jonas

A Fine Frenzy, One Cell in the Sea (Virgin Records, 2007)

A Fine Frenzy is a one-woman band consisting of singer/pianist Alison Sudol. Only 22, Sudol shows considerable promise as a songwriter with a strong sense of melody on A Fine Frenzy's debut CD One Cell in the Sea. I suppose the combination of the piano and the red hair will draw comparisons, among those who are older than Sudol, to Tori Amos. But while A Fine Frenzy has been marketed towards the indie rock audience, Sudol's writing style reminds me more of the pop sensibilities of Carole King than any recent or contemporary alternative music.

On One Cell in the Sea, Sudol mixes soft ballads in with mid-tempo rockers. Ironically, given her choice of a musical name, she doesn't get particularly frenzied at any point on the record. While Sudol's piano is the instrumental focus on most tracks, there is plenty of orchestration and programming as well, along with the standard rock band accompaniment. Sudol's lyrics deal with love, loss, and the broad spectrum of emotions that go with them. The heartbreak in the single "Almost Lover" is a bit obvious, but Sudol more than makes up for it with the joyously upbeat "You Picked Me." This is the kind of love song that will even win over people who generally hate love songs. Another highlight is the song "Rangers," about the need to find a quiet space with your lover where the outside world won't find you.

Stylistically, One Cell in the Sea is not the kind of album I normally buy, being a little quiet on the whole. The fact that it contains a few songs that grabbed my attention, then, serves as testament to Alison Sudol's talent as a songwriter. Hopefully she'll be given plenty of opportunity to refine her craft even further.

Overall grade: B

reviewed by Scott

Dobet Gnahoré, Na Afriki (Cumbancha, 2007)

Dobet Gnahoré grew up in an artist colony in Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. Colin Laroche de Féline was a sixteen-year-old French kid with just a guitar and a backpack when he showed up at the colony in 1996. He and Gnahoré quickly began a musical and romantic partnership that continues today. Although the album Na Afriki is credited specifically to the singer Gnahoré, de Féline co-wrote all the songs and plays guitar on most of them.

The music on Na Afriki covers a fairly broad range of styles, from soft, simple ballads to heavily percussive dance numbers. Gnahoré's deeply emotional voice is flexible enough to handle the different volumes and tempos. She sings in a number of different West African languages and addresses a lot of issues plaguing the African continent today, from war and poverty to incest and polygamy. De Féline's playing clearly owes a debt to the Malian guitarists like Habib Koité and Ali Farka Touré, but he can hold his own in that esteemed company.

The quieter songs worked best for me on the whole, most notably the ballad "Issa." I think I would have preferred a bit more of an edge on at least a few of these tracks, though. I got the overwhelming sense that Gnahoré, de Féline, and their backing band could have cut loose more than they did. Still, Na Afriki is a creditable effort from a very talented young performer who has a lot of good things to say and seems fully capable of taking her music to a higher level in the future.

Overall grade: B

reviewed by Scott

Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong (2004)

Dime Store Magic is not a bad book. If that sounds like damning with faint praise, it is. The book isn't bad, it's just not very good. The fault, I think, lies mostly in the setting. It may seem like an odd word to apply to a work of fiction, but the setting feels artificial, forced somehow. In fact, it feels more like the setting for a Role Playing Game than a novel. For an RPG it would probably be a lot of fun, unfortunately a lot of the stuff that makes an RPG fun and work, is counterproductive for a novel.

The book is part of the "Otherworld" series, and at first glance it seems promising although certainly going over well-trod ground. The idea is that there are all sorts of supernatural critters living in and among human society, with their own ideas and purposes. This sort of setting has provided grist for many a mill, but here it just doesn't seem to gell. There is much discussion of "half-demons" and how their (extremely specific) powers are transmitted or not transmitted to their offspring; the distinction between "witches" and "sorcerors" (women and men, naturally); and so on, with specific jargon for each variation. The end result reads like a description of character races and types for a Dungeons and Dragons game, or even more aptly, a slightly askew game of Vampire: The Masquerade. Everything has an artificial quantification, in a way that one doesn't see in the real world. In this novel, the characters discuss "third level spells" or a spell that is "elemental, fire, class 3." One expects them to start talking about "4th level quarterbacks," "sixth level 'C' programs," or "9th level blogs." (Like this one, of course:-)

The plot is pretty basic, although there are some nice twists. The narrator, Paige Winterbourne, is a young witch who has been left in charge of a 13 year old witch (presumed to be an orphan) with scary strong powers and a poor moral compass. Powerful bad-guys, including the girl's father show up and want custody. To convince Paige to relinquish Savannah, the girl, they go out of their way to ruin her life. There's a pretty traditional romantic subplot, some magic and even a car chase or two. All in all pretty routine stuff here.

That said, there are some good points. The set pieces are fun, particularly one set in a funeral home. The writing itself is solid if unexceptional. The pacing is actually quite good. The characterization is uneven, with some nice bits and some that fall flat. Ultimately, though, the book doesn't quite work. If you are going to work in ground like this, that has been worked over before many times, you need to really bring something exciting to the party. Dime Store Magic is just a fairly generic urban fantasy. If you are an "Urban Fantasy" completist or specialist, by all means check out this book. If you aren't, but if the setting or idea sounds interesting, then I'd suggest checking out the works of, say Neil Gaiman or some of the works of Tim Powers that are set in the modern age.

Overall Grade: C-

Lord Demon - Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold (1999)

Roger Zelazny is one of the towering greats in the speculative fiction arena, and while Lord Demon is not his finest work (most folks would vote for Amber or maybe Lord of Light) it is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, in it the old master shows that he was on top of his game up until his death in 1995.

Yes, he died before the book was released. It was a collaboration completed by Jane Lindskold, as was another Zelazny book, Donnerjack and it is a high compliment that it is difficult if not impossible to identify which parts are Zelazny and which Lindskold. (Except for one internal reference to Amber which I'd guess was Lindskold.)

The setting and plot are classic Zelazny. Our hero, Kai Wren, a demon of the Chinese style is beset by unknown enemies for unknown reasons and must adventure across varied fantastic landscapes trying to discover who is trying to do what and why. This is a paranoid setup familiar to Zelazny readers. Once again, though, he manages to craft a phenomenally engrossing story with an inviting background and delightful characters. He weaves Chinese history and mythology into a science-fictional/fantasy setting in a way that seems perfectly natural and, in context, believable and rational. The invention that Zelazny brought to his work apparently came from an inexhaustable source. There are throwaway ideas in this book that others would try to stretch to novel length. In the hands of most writers, this would be a trilogy, and it is a tribute to Zelazny's skill that one almost wishes it was. The world of Kai Wren, Lord Demon, is compelling enough to make you want to spend more time in it.

Overall Grade: A-

2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

This Tuesday (or December 4th, if you're reading this after then) marks the return of one of television's more unusual events: The 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. This now-annual event is interesting for several reasons beyond prurpeience (though let's be honest: that's why most of us who will watch it will tune in).

First, the VSFS pretty much nukes the whole "too much sex on television" debate. This show is an hour of virtually nothing but gorgeous women strutting their stuff in extremely revealing underwear. And it's on a major network -- one usually considered more conservative -- after the "family hour" but well before late night. There are always people and groups that protest, but these attempts at protest don't amount to much -- these have aired for several years now -- and most coverage tends to be more positive. So if you want less sex on television, know while this is airing you're on the losing side of that debate.

Second,the VSFS is a COMMERCIAL. I know some companies sponsor movies (Hallmark has its Hall of Fame movies); some companies pay to have their products featured, or digitally added to, television shows; and some programs have their overt ulterior motives (American Idol is both a talent show and a launching pad for the record label to create their next hopeful best sellers). But there's a impetus to these programs, some level of plot or conflict. The VSFS has nothing even remotely approaching this: no plot, no contest, no examination of how fashions are designed -- the only non-lingerie element is the inclusion of guest singers (this year, Seal (hubbie of VS star Heidi Klum), Will.i.am, and the Spice Girls reunion). I suppose there's something to be said for honesty, but this is brazen product promotion, like a show parading IBM computers or different flavors of Pepsi across the screen for an hour. Then again, those shows would get far fewer viewers...

Third, and arguably most important, the VSFS may very well be the most honest special on television. There are lots of crime shows that seem to revel in gruesome or sadistic sensationalism while claiming it's part of the drama, plenty of "news" shows or specials lure viewers with the promise of t&a while pretending they're offering news, and shows from the moronic (Baywatch) to the creative (Alias, Charmed) always find a way to work in situations where their female stars are nearly nekkid'. When you tune in to the VSFS, you know exactly what you're getting -- models wearing Victoria's Secret fashions -- and you'll get it from start to finish. Wouldn't it be great if more shows promised what they delivered? Or had Victoria's Secret models?

Of course, one must wonder why the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show actually airs commercials for Victoria's Secret during its own show. I'll ponder that while I watch.

Jim Lynch