TVSquad

I mentioned Human Weapon briefly back in March. The new series for the History Channel follows Professional fighter and martial expert Jason Chambers and former football player and wrestler Bill Duff as they travel the world to find martial arts experts and fight them. I assume it's a planned fight, I don't think Chambers and Duff will suddenly stop in mid-interview and start punching people, though that would be fun to watch.

If ever a subject of this PBS documentary showcase series lived up to the title "Independent Lens," it's eighteen year old Shadya Zoabi. Shadya is a Muslim Arab living in Israel, a beautiful, athletic and headstrong girl who loves karate and who has very little interest in following the typical Muslim path of becoming a servant and housekeeper. Throughout the film, Shadya's feminist views clash with those of her older brothers, the eldest of which insists Shadya must give up karate and behave in a manner more fitting to Muslim customs and laws. Shadya, meanwhile, flaunts her independence at every turn. She even gives up praying because she says she hasn't got the time.

(S03E08) Ahh, my glorious return to the age of power... well sort of. All my power is back but the internet is still down. So I'm at the office and I feel like everyone has more to say about this episode than me because they all saw last week's installment. But I feel pretty caught up. I've read some other reviews and the "previously on Rescue Me" montage at the beginning of the show was pretty complete. All I'm saying is bear with me since I'm still trying to connect all the dots.

That being said, great opening sequence. Huge warehouse fire and some men from another house get trapped in the basement. The Probie was the only one not in the building yet and he risked his life to find the man down and got him out. It was huge. High fives, pats on the back. He was on cloud nine. He's definitely no longer The Probie after this act of courage. Though I wonder if the rest of the crew even know his real name is Mike?

Last night's episode of Everybody Hates Chris focused on a sibling rivalry between Chris and his younger brother Drew, who is better than Chris in everything that matters to young teenage boys, especially fighting and getting girls. Jealous, Chris decides to enroll in a karate class, where his instructor informs the class that karate is about learning ways to kill people, and then not doing it.

I grew up with two siblings, an older sister and a younger brother, and all three of us were so radically different in our personalities and interests that there was never any real jealously between us. I couldn't really empathize with Chris' desire to do something better than his little brother, but I do remember wanting to take karate at a young age. My reason for wanting this, as is the case for most boys, was so I could beat the living crap out of anyone who tried to beat me up at school. I never did take lessons, but I did develop my own form of karate which involved placing one foot in front of the other, and using this motion to propel myself quickly in the opposite direction of my assailant.