Philo Farnsworth and me

I don't watch a lot of TV. I'm not making any kind of big stand here, there are a few shows I try to catch, but I just don't make the time commitment for most television. As a result, I become a bit of a social pariah whenever any of the following come up:

Lost
Heroes
24
ER (This is still on, yes?)
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
House (Actually, just saw my first episode of this. They showed a little kid bleeding rectally in the first five minutes. Pass.)
Battlestar Galactica
Law & Order in any iteration
CSI
How I Met Your Mother
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars

And so on. But, I've spent this evening catching up on Elvis Costello's Spectacle on the Sundance Channel. Holy lord, this is a fine example of the medium. Each episode is Elvis sitting down with a guest to discuss their mutual love and experiences with music, with performances scattered throughout. So far I've seen the Elton John and Lou Reed episodes, and both were electric. It's easy to forget just what a great musician Elton John is with all of the grand showman aura about him. His episode dispels a lot of that, and Reed's episode breaks through the coldness that has been attributed to him over the years, rightfully or not. This is informative, enjoyable and warm television, something all too rare.

If you're not a music nerd and are starting to doze off after my little spiel above*, you should still give the show a chance. The performances alone are worth the price of admission, as seen below. The ones I've included here are Elvis performing covers of his guests' songs, but there are some incredible duets featured, too.





*Yeah, I realize that could have less to do with whether or you're not a music nerd and more to do with me being a shitty writer, wiseass.