3rd Quadrant 10/08 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of October 8, 2007

“How I Met Your Mother”

Starring Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, and Jason Segel

Narrated by an (unseen) man in the year 2030 telling his children the story of his 20-something years, this "Friends"-like sitcom actually revolves around a group of five friends in present-day Manhattan. (Metacritic)

Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer said, “How I Met Your Mother” is that rare TV comedy that relies more on character than jokes,” and Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel said, ”Romantic comedies depend on appealing actors, and these five are irresistible.”

The show has won three Emmys, and had seven other nominations. (IMDb)

"Reaper"

Plot Outline: A twenty-something slacker works as a bounty hunter for the devil, because before he was born his parents sold his soul to the devil.

Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press said of Reaper, “With its sharp writing, wonderful cast and wacko spirit, Reaper is one helluva good time,” and Alessandra Stanley of the Times wrote,” Reaper is not at all grim; it’s actually quite rewarding.”

Facebook.com eHarmony Parody

The parody was produced for EXPOSED, a variety TV show at the University of Southern California. It was directed by Mu Su, produced by Adam Sussman, and written by James Grosch.

"INTO THE WILD"

Plot Outline: After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life. (IMDb\Lisa Kelley)

(Warning! May contain spoilers.): In the spring of 1992, after vagabonding around the country for two years, Christopher McCandless, a 24-year-old Virginian and Emory graduate, hitchhiked to Alaska and set off into the wilderness with little more than a .22-caliber rifle and a 10-pound sack of rice. Not far from the Teklanika River, he set up camp in an abandoned International Harvester bus, a 1940s relic of the Fairbanks City Transit System. He lived there for four months, from late April to late August, before finally starving to death. When his body was discovered in September, he weighed only 67 pounds.
(New York Times)

Dennis Harvey of Variety said, "Sean Penn delivers a compelling, ambitious work that will satisfy most admirers of the book."

The movie was written, directed, and partly filmed by Sean Penn.

Marc Ecko's Dilemma

(Repost from 3rd Quadrant 10/01 '07)

Marc Ecko, a fashion desiginer, purchased the baseball for $750,000 and took votes on his website to see what he should do with it:

1. Give the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame
2. Brand it with an asterisk
3. Blast it into space

Barry Bonds thinks Ecko is wasting his money, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Voting has ended, and the results will be announced today on the "Today" show.

(Update: The voters chose option 2. The ball will be permanently branded and sent to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.)

"Chuck"

Tagline: Computer geek by day. Government operative by night.

From executive producer, Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.") and executive producer-director McG ("Charlie's Angels," "We Are Marshall") comes a one-hour, action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists. (NBC)