9-1-1 Lone Star - A Show More Woke Than Watchable

I don't watch a lot of TV being busy doing other things. When I do, I want to be entertained with quality story lines.

9-1-1 Lone Star threw out the storytelling part and replaced it with a focus on wokeness, making a rather unwatchable mess.

The TV show 9-1-1, from which 9-1-1 Lone Star sprang, does have a fair bit of PC to it, considering it's set in LA that's to be expected. Of course, it had its Black Lives Matter moment and other stuff, but it typically wasn't in your face and did not replace the story of the show itself and was generally more subtle and in the background rather than in your face.

9-1-1 Lone Star flips the script on that, being woke as all heck, and real short on story-line.

The story begins: A disaster at a Austin, Texas storage facility wipes out all but one member of a firehouse in a rather earth-shattering kaboom. A promising start that swiftly goes downhill.

The Austin Fire Department then heads to New York to hire Rob Lowe, their only hope (who has early stage lung cancer from 9/11 of course), to diversify the department (because Austin, Texas is just a backwater in fly-over country and obviously only has white good ol' boy firefighters, amirite?) and rebuild the empty station.

Lowe, in between being very concerned about his hair and moisturizing (no, not making that up), goes forth and totally ignoring any existing civil service and firefighting hiring protocols assembles a crack woke team of:

- A devout Muslim female daredevil acrobatic firefighter from Miami;

- A trans from female-to-male firefighter from another city (Chicago?), who happens to be a magically talented crack investigator;

- A Hispanic who has continually failed the written test for the fire department but, because he is detail oriented at cleaning the Fire Chief's car, Lowe feels he'll be a great firefighter so no need to actually pass the academy;

- Lowe's fictional son, who is not just very, very gay, but also has an opioid addiction problem and is just recovering from trying to commit suicide after his prior lover broke up with him; and

-The Texan lone survivor who is present as a PTSD suffering, stubborn, somewhat conservative good ol' boy, and not depicted as overly smart. But, thankfully, he does at least have a redeeming feature by having an African-American wife who is depicted as very wise, sensible, and able to order him around.

Yep, you can just imagine the hiring board, the Austin firefighter's union, and not to mention the City's liability insurance company absolutely losing their stuffing over such a hiring process.

On top of that, you have Liv Tyler, who is horribly miscast as a top paramedic. Liv, when not working, is busy searching for her sister's killer, and is busy handing out medications and performing off-book medical procedures for illegals. The illegals in thanks for her medical services then give her a clue to the disappearance of her sister three years before. Yes, really.

Of course, the average white Texan represented on the show are depicted as overly conservative in a stupid backwards way, or being benightedly Christian-religious (which is bad, unlike a devout Muslim praying on a prayer rug in the station, which is good), or racist. They often score a perfect trifecta of all three in the show.

In short, the show decided to put maximum wokeness way ahead of the story line and replace an actual plot with actual disasters/emergencies at the forefront with PC pablum and it really shows. I got through the first episode just to see if they could actually stop this from turning into a PC-train wreck, and then threw in the towel mid-way through the second episode.

Basically, the show is designed to gut the standard heroic Emergency!/Rescue show and bend it to the progressive zeitgeist and let the cognoscenti tea-bag on their imagined stereotypical denizens of a red state. Meanwhile, the show producers are apparently too ignorant to realize that Austin is a rather solidly blue dot in Texas.

In short, there's much better stuff on TV to watch today and 9-1-1 Lone Star is not worth your time.

Scratch A Leftie Columnist, Find A Fascist Underneath

The Detroit Free Press' Rochelle "It's All About Race" Riley writes a column amazingly not dealing with race, the greatness of Obama, or gun control.

Taking a break from her usual tripe and expanding her horizons fascist-wise, she writes that she wants Congress to regulate cable television because 9 year-olds might watch the Walking Dead at 9pm at night and be psychologically harmed thereby.

Rather than asking what parent lets their 9-year old be awake at 9pm on a Sunday, much less letting the little tyke watch The Walking Dead?; Rather than advocating that parents you know, actually parent and control their kids bedtimes and tv content; she instead demands the government regulate and ban the evil she believes is the Walking Dead's gratuitous violence.

She actually called the FCC to complain. She was told to politely take a hike as the FCC doesn't regulate cable. She did not like that response.

So, joining the ranks of leading Democrats like Tipper Gore, she doesn't mind the government regulating and banning speech as long as it regulates things her way, and she calls on Congress to expand regulation onto the cable companies.

'Walking Dead' snuff episode should be a wake-up call

Rochelle Riley, one of the Freep's most liberal commentators actually wrote:

"We have freedom-of-speeched ourselves to death"

Rochelle, you have lots of control over your television, and you don't even have to leave your comfy chair in your liberal cocoon to do it. It's called picking up the remote control and changing the channel. Or even better, parent, supervise and have your 9 year old in bed before 9 on a night before school and the problem is solved - no big government censorship necessary.

Well, It Is On Cable So That's Something

So I now have a small claim to fame in a local cable television sort of way. 

That of course means I probably will have an audience of say 50 people, but I'll take it.

I was invited onto the Bloomfield Hills MI Cable show "Practical Law" to talk about Michigan Firearms Law issues. We did the shooting in two parts of thirty minutes each as I apparently was so interesting the first time he wanted me on for a repeat performance, which took place yesterday.

I believe I gave a pretty decent and comprehensive coverage of the issues in the short 30-minute sessions that we had, and certainly surprised the host of the show, a truly excellent family law attorney and a true gentleman. 

Now, he doesn't have much in the way of background in firearms law nor of firearms technology and had the standard anti-gun rights line, mainly because he simply didn't know any better and that anti-rights view has been and is still very much the dominant narrative in the media these days.  He was a most attentive interviewer and careful listener and

He was thus surprised as to both the nature of Michigan's firearms laws and that there are pretty stringent qualifications to get a Concealed Pistol License and the laws regarding carrying a firearm and self-defense.

On the technology side, once I explained that no, what is commonly called an automatic pistol, doesn't spray rounds with every squeeze of the trigger but only once per trigger squeeze, it certainly helped.  It also helped that I pointed out that there really is no such thing as a gun show loophole - if you buy from a dealer at a gun show or a shop, you still have to do the paperwork and a background check wherever you are, but a private sale is similarly the same whether at someone's residence, or a gun show or elsewhere (and in Michigan there will still be paperwork and background checks (or equivalent)  in a private sale where handguns are involved).  I also helpfully corrected him and pointed out that no, you can't just by a machine-gun over the counter nor at a gun show.

We also dealt with some recent road rage incidents and what should and should not be done in such situations.

In short, much time was spent dispelling common anti-gun myths and dealing with the facts of firearms ownership and the law in Michigan.  

I'd like to think that he gained, and his audience will gain, a greater appreciation of the pro-firearms rights side of the debate.  His having an open mind and being, as I said before a true gentleman didn't hurt either. It also doesn't hurt that they learn the realities of firearms law and hopefully have some of their myths regarding firearms and the law dispelled.

The Very Model Of A Modern Major British Military Comedy

There's a new and quite funny British comedy out there - Bluestone 42.

Set in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick, it features the travails and antics of a British Bomb disposal detachment.

Not yet available on DVD in the US, you can catch the whole first season on YouTube, and apparently Season 2 is being produced currently.

Life Imitates Art Or That Name Meth So Much To You

When your name is the same as a fictional and popular meth manufacturer on TV, maybe manufacturing meth isn't that smart a lifestyle choice.

Heck, who'd ever suspect?

The Detroit News: Real-life Walter White sought on meth charge

A man who shares the same name with television's most noted meth dealer is wanted by authorities in Alabama for allegedly violating his probation for a past meth conviction.

Not sure if his name alone constitutes probable cause, but in this case it might as well.

A Sher Lock On A Great Viewing Experience

Sherlock: Season Two that is.

The BBC's modern reboot of Sherlock Holmes just got even better in Season 2. Consisting of three episodes, the season leaves you wanting more.

A Scandal in Belgravia with Irene Adler was simply stunning with a very clever twist on the classic story and is very well acted by all involved.

Hound of the Baskervilles was stunningly well done, bringing in a plausible modern day reason for the situation and gave a chilling edge of your seat horror/suspenseful atmosphere that was really fantastic.

The Reichenbach Fall, the last episode of the season, is quite simply a masterpiece and works very, very, very well. It also leaves you desperately wanting this awesome show to continue.

I certainly hope the BBC will go ahead with Season 3. It sounds like it has been approved and will appear in summer 2013, which is a long time to wait especially as we'll only get the DVDs well after its already played in Britain, as this series is quite simply some of the finest television being produced today.

You can see the promo trailers for Season 2 below. Watch them to whet your appetite, then go watch Season 2 forthwith as your viewing enjoyment will be assured.

Incredibly smart, witty, detailed and well-done television at its finest.

Game of Leftist Drones

Drones not as in those airborne unmanned objects giving Al Qaeda such grief, but in this case mindless leftists.

The Detroit Free Press: HBO apologizes for beheading George W. Bush on 'Game of Thrones'

On Thursday, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the guys who have adapted George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" books into HBO series "Thrones," apologized after revealing in commentary for the DVD version of the show's first season that they used a replica of President George W. Bush's head in a couple of the show's beheading scenes.

Why, what a rebellious combination of a very edgy and oh-so-secret act of speaking truth and beheading the power.

I'm sure the crew got quite the chuckle over it and felt very brave for such a courageous act.

Actually, make that beheading the former power. W. was long out of office before filming started in 2010. I guess the power of the W. lingers, especially within the liberal mind. After all, Obama is still blaming Bush for everything bad even in 2012.

Please, if you want to be really edgy with your beheading images, try using the replica head of Obama or Mohammed. Good luck with getting away with those while either keeping your own careers if you use the first or keeping your own heads in the second....

Of course, now they're trying to walk it back and claim that it was used for "budget restrictions".

Sure it was.

Top Shot now casting - with some notable conditions

So Top Shot, the reality TV shooting show is now issuing an open casting call for the next season.

However, there are certain minimum qualifications and restrictions that must be met in order to be considered.

Most notably:

•Participant must never have been convicted of or have charges pending against him or her for any of the following misdemeanors:
....
•Transferring guns to criminal street gang members

This pretty much eliminates all potential shooters from the US Department of Justice as contestants.

Detroit 1-8-7 star gives a classy good-bye but really mixes up his metaphors

Actor James McDaniel wrote a farewll letter to Detroit after learning Detroit 1-8-7 would be cancelled. He should have seen it coming as using California's penal code section 1-8-7 for murders taking place in Michigan was always a bit Hollyweird.

However, Mr. McDaniel's letter starts off with a rather inapt description:

Dear Paris of the Midwest,

We will miss you.

Methinks he meant the Beirut of the Midwest and he was confused because Beirut used to be called the "Paris of the Mid East" a long time ago.....

TV Show Worth Watching - Castle

Castle is a great lighthearted and entertaining murder mystery show on ABC starring Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fane) & Stana Katic.

Nathan Fillion is Richard Castle a mystery writer who tags along with Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett as they solve a variety of murder mysteries (Castle and Beckett - get the literary reference?).

I'm still waiting for a bad guy in show to quip:

Will no one rid me of this troublesome detective?

Great show, and Fillion is at the top of his game and delivers in the role with well timed humor, smarts and style. If you liked him in Firefly or Drive, you'll really like him in this role.

Stana Katic is also excellent in her role as the detective that has to constantly put up with Castle following her around on cases and his dry humor. She delivers her lines perfectly and has some great expressions in reaction to what Fillion does.

Well worth watching, its on ABC at 10 pm which is why DVRs were made. Hopefully because it is on ABC it will avoid the Fox / Fillion curse. (Anytime Fillion stars in a great show on Fox they cancel it (methinks someone has it in for him and Joss Wheadon over there), Having the show ABC may keep this great show going.

Tim Minear's Drive soon to come on Fox

Tim Minear, one of the fine writers who worked on Firefly, has just had Fox greenlight his new show Drive.

Impressively the Show will star, among some other very strongly cast actors, Nathan Fillion (formerly Mal of Firefly).

Any show written by Minear and starring Fillion has got to be good. Tim can write, and Nathan can act, so I can guarrantee I'll be watching this one when it comes out.

My only hope is that Fox gives Drive some gas so it doesn't run Out of Gas like Fox did to Firefly.