What I'm Watching Now

With all the tweeting and FaceBooking going on, one hardly has time to blog, let alone put in a partial day's work, but let me just tell you about these fab new shows I've been into lately. Head Case stars Alexandra Wentworth, apparently improvising up a storm (she started in Groundlings, who knew?) as a neurotic shrink to the stars who is absolutely having issues of her own to deal (or not) with. She also has a charming British receptionist who is tabloid crazy and a fellow shrink she shares office space with, who has no patients at all. Her patients appear as (purportedly) themselves. It's very funny and season 1 is now on DVD. Party Down involves a group of wannabe actors who work for a Los Angeles catering company, and every week revolves around a different party. The head guy is looking for a big payday so he can open up his own franchise of a local fast food chain called something like "Super Crackers." It's all very cute. They're both shown on the Starz channel Friday nights.

Name of the Day

Poopa Dweck. Expert on Aleppian Jewish Cookery.

Irons in the Fire

I haven't seen the new Broadway play Impressionism yet, but I did get to see one of it's stars yesterday evening, as Jeremy Irons sat in the hot seat, being grilled by The New York Times book critic (and former longtime movie critic) Janet Maslin as part of the Times Talks series at their building on West 41st street. Charmingly self-deprecating and as down to earth as one could be whose rich, plummy tones seem to indicate "born at the Old Vic," Irons shared many a lovely anecdote about costars, directors, and his inimitable take on life in general ("domesticity is the killer of..." well, you know). Unfortunately, in the hallway after the "show," I was loudly declaiming to my friend, "I HATED Dead Ringers."
"Um, he's right behind you."
Oh.