The British comedy Red Dwarf has been a favorite of mine for many years, and this year it celebrates its 20th year anniversary. While they show hasn’t *constantly* been in production this fact is a bit misleading, but regardless, this year the crew of The Cat, Rimmer, Lister and Kryten are reuniting for a new 3 part series, Back To Earth.
It’s amazing, with all the toy recalls this year, the Aquadots one just stands out since it apparently contians the same active ingrediate in the ‘date rape’ drug! And how could such a hazardous chemical have ended up in a child’s toy? Remember, it’s all about money… “The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics. The Food and Drug Administration in 1999 declared the chemical a Class I Health Hazard, meaning it can cause life-threatening harm. Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet. It’s not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.” Indeed, the Wal-Mart ‘race to the bottom’ mentality of needing everything to be cheaper rewards this kind of ‘cost cutting’.
This is cool (and somewhat of a relief), Jon Stewart will be paying his writers out of his own pocket during the writers strike. “In a show of solidarity with his fellow scribes, the Daily Show host has told his writing staff that he will cover all their salaries for the next two weeks, according to a well-placed source. He has also vowed to do the same for writers on The Colbert Report. A Comedy Central spokesman referred my inquiry about this to Stewart’s personal publicist, who has yet to respond. Stewart’s intention, says the source, is to ensure his writers will face no financial hardship should the strike, which kicked off at 3 a.m. local time, conclude within that time frame.” I was wondering if we were going to have to endure weeks of reruns and loss of coverage that the strike would have brought, cool! Wonder what Colbert has planned.
Apparently Stephen Colbert’s “candidacy” has started to take off, apparently a new poll (in South Carolina only natch) shows him in double digits! “Comedian Stephen Colbert, who recently announced he would run for U.S. president as both a Democrat and a Republican but only in the state of South Carolina, scored 13 percent in a new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports. The national telephone survey found that 13 percent chose Colbert as an independent candidate in a race against Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and former New York mayor Republican Rudy Giuliani. Colbert received 12 percent support when former Sen. Fred Thompson was suggested as the Republican candidate. (Clinton won both match-ups in the poll.) The host of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central declared his newfound political intentions last week and clarified his position a few days later, telling NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday: “I don’t want to be president. I want to run for president. There’s a difference.”
One of the best kids shows out there today is Jack’s Big Music Show. Plenty of sing-along songs that I and my kids keep singing, even after the show is over. Jon Stewart, a parent himself, is going to play a news reporter character, and I’m sure it’ll be a hoot. “Feb. 2 episode, there’s Jon Stewart (Brunk Stinegrouber of the Groundhog News Network, in a nifty earflaps hat) trying to coax a frightened Gertrude the Groundhog out of her home. Gertrude gets a little inspiration from the Schwartzman quartet, but it’s not enough. Not till Jack and his friends sing a song about the first day of preschool (”I Can Do It!”) does she muster the courage to face the press, who want to know if she’ll see her shadow. There’s also a special ditty from Steve Burns of Blues Clues fame, along with the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd, ”I Hog the Ground,” (Cuz I’m small/And I’m brown/And I hog/And I’m brown.) that contains a guitar riff the Ramones would be proud of. A Feb. 10 show is set to feature Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines as Sudsy Bubblestein, a professional dog washer and stylist.” So they’ve got all sorts of based covered there. If you’ve ever seen old Blues Clues, you’ll barely recognize Steve Burns, but I’ve seen the video they’re talking about above, and it’s great. The two also hooked up on Burn’s solo debut, Songs For Dust Mites. Oh, and extra credit if you’ve seen Jon Stewart in Elmopalooza like I have!
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