TVSquad

(S01E08) In what might have been one of the stranger episodes, there was a point in the voiceover where Mary comments her clients, Ruth and Don. They're devout Catholics, but they hate each other and want to split. They don't because they cannot get an annulment. When Mary urges them to just get a divorce, saying that as a Catholic she understand them, they say they'll continue to suffer because it's God's will. That's when Mary's VO is, "Okay, too weird for me."

That's how I felt about this show. While it was an interesting examination of a couple facing a dilemma while at the same time being in Witness Protection, there were elements that made me cringe.

(S02E08) Much to Anne's chagrin and Henry's delight, Jane Seymour joined the queen as the new lady-in-waiting. Henry, not as athletic and spry as he once was, was injured in a jousting match. Everyone scrambled to figure out who will succeed him if he does die. Pope Paul III decided to execute the Bull of Excommunication against the king. Jane Parker started planting her seeds of revenge against her husband. And Thomas Cromwell continued to do what he's done since the end of season one, play puppet master. (Okay, puppet master is harsh.)

What an episode! My review is after the jump.

"King of the World" James Cameron takes on the "King of Kings" Jesus Christ. Announced in a press conference earlier today and slated for a Discovery Channel debut on March 4th is executive producer Cameron's The Lost Tomb of Jesus. The documentary introduces new archaeological evidence that shows where the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family were kept, and by "his family," Cameron's not talking about Mary and Joseph. The evidence reveals that Jesus may have had a son named Judah with Mary Magdalene.

TV Squad reader Jorge Gonzalez asked:

On Conan last night, The Red One said that Colbert teaches Sunday school. Seeing the kind of humor that Colbert displays, including his many "This Week in God" segments on The Daily Show, I find that hard to believe. Are you able to confirm that at all because I sure as shit can't.

Well, you're in luck, 'cause I, as the resident Colbert fangirl, sure as shit can confirm it. Yes, Mr. Stephen Colbert does teach Sunday school. In fact, this isn't the first time that he's mentioned it ("I go to church, I teach Sunday school. I have family values," he said here). Colbert's a devout Catholic, raises his children under the church, and even served as his daughter's catechist.

MTV's decision to start airing an animated series in Germany called Popetown which features a corrupt Vatican and a childlike Pope who bounds around on a pogo stick is already catching flak from some Catholic groups. The series was created two years ago for the BBC, which banned it at the last minute over fear of controversy. Now MTV has courted even more controversy with a print advertisement for the new series which shows Jesus descended from the cross and laughing in front of the TV, crown of thorns still on his head. Despite threats of legal action, the series will still debut in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on May 3.

(S02E02) This episode of Wonder Showzen began with Chauncey visited by himself from two minutes in the future. It turns out Chauncey's future self is a hundred times cooler than Chauncey, so Chauncey sets out to build a time machine and travel even further back in the future (four minutes) so he can be even hipper. But we'll get to all that in a moment.

I said in my last review that the "Beat Kids" segment wasn't my favorite, only because I don't think it always works in the execution. Of course, that was before last night when they had a kid put on zombie make-up, dress as the Pope, and interview people in front of a Catholic Church under the pseudonym "Little Dead Pope." Trey Parker has been quoted time and again saying Cartman was his way of creating a character who could say things that would get most real people burned at the stake. Wonder Showzen takes that concept one step further and actually uses real children, which adds a whole layer of apprehension when you hear them say things to unsuspecting adults like, "The Pope should go to Hell for promoting a corrupt system. High five!" Not many shows can make you almost fall of the couch laughing while at the same time fearing for a child's life. They should have some kind of award for that.

By now the noise over South Park's infamous "Bloody Mary" episode featuring an excessively menstrual statue of the Virgin Mary has died down, but folks in New Zealand hadn't seen it until recently. Needless to say, many of them weren't happy. As the cartoon was being broadcast, hundreds of protesters gathered around a statue of the Virgin Mary to pray. In addition, 350 people protested outside the TV station that broadcast the cartoon. Despite the protests, or possibly because of them, the episode garnered more than six times the usual audience. If nothing else, South Park has proved not only can it raise the ire of American audiences, it also knows how to offend on a global scale.

Last month there was some speculation as to whether or not Comedy Central had caved in by not airing the "Bloody Mary" episode of South Park, which featured a statue of the Virgin Mary spraying blood from her ass. Some Catholic groups were upset about the episode, and its omission from the marathon caused many people to think Comedy Central had finally succumbed to outside pressure. Boing Boing published a form e-mail Comedy Central sent to those who e-mailed the network to complain. If I'm reading the letter correctly, it appears Comedy Central chose not to air the episode just that one time in the name of holiday solidarity and whatnot. Here's the letter:

Despite all the publicity leading up to Friday's premiere of The Book of Daniel on NBC, it still didn't do so hot in the ratings. The two-hour premiere, which aired from 9-11 pm on Friday, averaged about 9 million viewers. That's fewer than Close to Home, Numb3rs, In Justice, and 20/20, which all aired against Daniel on CBS and ABC. In Justice and 20/20 barely beat Daniel, each with a little more than 9 million viewers.

I watched The Book of Daniel out of pure curiosity. I like Aidan Quinn and I wanted to give the guy a chance. Plus, I wanted to see whether all the ruckus was justified. It wasn't.