Idol Chatter

Though I know “Desperate Housewives” mostly as a funny, fluffy confection of marital and familial melodrama, acted superbly by its four female leads, it never fails to remind audiences of its deeper, darker side–and just when you least expect it. As season one began with a suicide, so season three (at least it appears) ended…

As a Christian, I can tell you that Christians can have a tendency to take their religion a wee bit too seriously. Not that religion isn’t serious, but it’s also ripe for humor, right? Too often we confuse disrespecting God with disrespecting his followers, who, let’s face it, frequently deserve the ribbing. Case in point:…

Back in November, I wrote about the developing friendship between two Christians on The Real World: Denver—Davis the Southern Baptist homosexual and Stephen the conservative Christian. Their discord was due to Davis’ homosexuality which Stephen deemed reprehensible for a Christian. Months later Stephen came to grips with Davis’ homosexuality and embraced the Christian adage of…

I love Betty Suarez. I admit when I reviewed the “Ugly Betty” pilot oh so many months ago, I was lukewarm, but mostly optomistic about the Salma Hayek-produced show based on the popular telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea.” In hindsight, I must have had a very bad day, because “Ugly Betty” is not only…

“King of Queens” star, and prominent Scientologist, Leah Remini is denying that there’s anything to her friendship with music/movie star Jennifer Lopez other than wanting to hang out with “a fabulous girl.” Recent reports not only have Remini trying to convert Lopez to Scientology, but advising “Jenny from the Block” that Scientology would improve her…

I am happy to report at least one bit of good news about the end of Smallville’s Season Six: the CW network finally released to fans their re-ups for next season which include “One Tree Hill,” “Supernatural,” and “Smallville.” Fans like me were worried that “Smallville” would go the way of “Gilmore Girls,” never to…

This past Sunday the CW aired the series finale of “7th Heaven,” one of the most successful family dramas in history. At some point, any show that runs a long time runs the risk of veering into soap opera territory. “7th Heaven” was no exception. What began as a drama about a minister, his wife,…

If you’re reading this blog, you likely have some appreciation for how pop entertainment can impact our spiritual lives–perhaps in our present condition, more effectively than formal religion. Dr. Martin Luther King’s daughter Yolanda, who died Tuesday at the age of 51, seemed to have latched to this phenomenon earlier than most of us. As…

I love bad TV. And what’s worse than MTV’s “The Real World/Road Rules Challenge,” which combines three bad TV staples (“The Real World,” “Road Rules,” and people doing idiotic stunts for prizes) into one frothy package? The Challenge also has a gift for choosing all the most loathsome and annoying former contestants and cramming them…

The fact that Jerry Fallwell’s passing is being treated as a major media event brings both a resounding affirmation of his impact upon the politics of our country as well as the compelling question about who will take his place–and who will take over his legacy. Can anybody? Let us not take it for granted…

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