When NFL star Donald Driver won ABC's Dancing with the Stars Tuesday, I realized something:

Everything I used to hate about this show, I have begun to miss tremendously.

Even though it's my job to keep up with these programs, Dancing with the Stars hasn't gotten much attention from me this season. That's because it started its run seriously deficient on one thing -- actual stars -- and finished without much of the other thing, interesting conflicts.

Back when the show was more newsworthy, snarking about tabloid fixtures such as Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Kirstie Alley or Bristol Palin at least provided some marginal excuse for keeping up with the program.

But this season's crop of stars -- Gladys Knight, Melissa Gilbert, Jaleel White -- were both scandal-free and seriously lacking in celebrity power. Indeed, the final three dancers -- Driver, telenovela star William Levy and classical singer Katherine Jenkins -- were likely among the least-known "stars" in a crop of decidedly low-profile competitors.

Didn't help that Driver, a smoothly-chiseled wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, fits a common mold for DWTS winners, as the seventh professional athlete and third NFL player to win in 14 seasons.

Small wonder the show is planning an all-star edition next, trying to bring back some of the celebrities it's audience sparked with before.

It may be the last move left for a show which has increasingly struggled to find celebrities big enough to fulfill the program's name.

Takes a lot to get me to miss Bristol Palin and Kirstie Alley. But DWTS just might have done it.

This isn't my normal pop culture turf, but as a serious comic book fanboy who has seen The Avengers movie twice, I wanted to take a moment to talk about something I've noticed in how some people are talking about this film.

Comic book culture -- like a lot of so-called "genre" areas such as science-fiction and fantasy -- are often a serious litmus test for consumers: either you get it and love it, or you don't. Which is why I truly understand how some critics feel about seeing comic book heroes take over the blockbuster summer movie season; if you don't like superheroes and the trappings of the genre, it can feel like the idiots have taken over the asylum.

But then comes a movie like The Avengers (and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight before that) which flips the script by being a great movie about superheroes. And suddenly, folks who could shrug off crap like The Green Lantern have to figure a reason why this comic book movie stuff actually works (or they could just pretend it's a crappy movie, like this guy).

That's what came to mind when I read this Washington Post essay about why the film works. I have no idea if the author knows much about the comic book world, but the tone falls somewhere between bewilderment and condescension, with an odd objective: finding an acceptable reason to like this entertaining movie.

Her conclusion: The actors elevate the material. His evidence is Mark Ruffalo, an actor with lots of cool cred for serious film fans, who does an amazing job playing Bruce Banner as a geeky, brilliant, cynical, tortured guy whose buttoned down exterior obviously hides something dark and scary.

"On paper, the Hulk doesn’t immediately look like the kind of material an actor of Ruffalo’s sensitivity and intelligence would be drawn to. In fact, many of Ruffalo’s fans — with visions of Nicolas Cage’s career dancing in their heads — first greeted the Hulk casting news with trepidation bordering on outrage (not Our Mark!)."

Why not Our Mark? Actors cool as Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Willem Dafoe have played amazing characters in comic book movies.  The fact is, these roles can be a blast if written well, and Ruffalo takes a part two other fine actors have played in recent years and wrings new substances and emotional notes from it.

I love the notion that Ruffalo's Banner is a smart, sophisticated angry guy who always seems on a low boil. That's one of the film's money lines: "I'm always angry."

But The Avengers' greatness isn't just about the actors nailing all their roles. It's about something bigger.

This movie works because the guy who made it, director/producer Joss Whedon, knows comic books intimately and embraced the way they tell stories. There was no attempt to "artify" the movie with grand ideas or dumb down the action by turning it into a succession of effects-filled fight scenes.

Most importantly, he didn't try to re-invent the wheel by coming up with new storylines; he pulled together a story from some of the most successful Avengers plotlines and characters already out there. 

Believe me, I know the love of comics is an acquired taste. I tried explaining the plot of The Avengers to a friend during lunch recently, and it sounded so geeky even I wanted to stick a sock in my mouth.

But the fact is, this is a storytelling form with literally 60 or 70 years worth of history. Captain America first appeared in comics in 1941. Thor debuted in 1962. Iron Man bowed the next year. Every one of these characters is older than I am, yet when some filmmakers take on these franchises, they ignore decades of storytelling in which concepts and plotlines have been road tested and explored.

The great failure of Green Lantern, if you ask me, is that filmmakers ignored years of more modern stories featuring the character after its debut, copying a creaky origin story which was first published in 1959.

What gives me hope about the new Superman movie, is that director Zack Snyder is such a comics geek he faithfully translated a comic book even many fans doubted could ever reach the silver screen, Alan Moore's subversive Watchmen.

Watching The Avengers was so much fun precisely because it felt like the best superhero team-up books brought to life. These are sophisticated heroes -- at first they don't trust S.H.E.I.L.D., with good reason, or each other -- and every character gets several quality moments in the spotlight.

Imagine a filmmaker creating a western with no knowledge of classic Sergio Leone or Sam Peckinpah films. Or attempting a Hercule Poirot film with little knowledge of (or respect for) Agatha Christie. (that's language film nerds can understand)

For this fanboy geek, the real triumph of The Avengers is its lessons for other filmmakers.

Respect the comic book storytelling form. Because it works.

'Nuff said. ... Read more

Tampa Bay Times sportswriters Tom Jones (bottom right) and Rick Stroud (right) will star in a new weekday morning show for sports radio station WDAE-AM (620), sparking a closer alliance between the newspaper and station owner Clear Channel Radio.

The pair begin hosting their three-hour show at 6 a.m. Tuesday, taking the timeslot once held by Dan Sileo — a former professional and college football player who was fired March 13 after inadvertently calling three black football players “monkeys” in a passing reference. The announcement of the new show was delivered after days of fanfare at 4 p.m. today during WDAE afternoon guy Steve Duemig's show.

“I think there’s a need for a show where you can bring the insights of a working journalist,” said Stroud, noting Clear Channel called him and Jones separately not long after Sileo left the job.

“A lot of people do commentary and a lot of people get animated,” he added. “As far as providing insight and accurate information…that’s something there’s a need for and we can do very well.”

As an opinion columnist covering sports media, Jones has a bit more freedom than Stroud, who must avoid bias while covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I wouldn’t say anything on the radio that I wouldn’t write for the newspaper,” said Jones, who will stop covering local sports radio to avoid conflicts of interest. “We talk to the coaches, we know the general managers. I would use the same standards on radio as in print.”

If discussions started in March, why did it take so long to finalize a deal?

“It was the first opening in our main lineup for eight years; we wanted to make sure we looked at everything,” said Steve Versnick, program director at WDAE, who initially called Stroud and Jones. “It’s our hope we’ll go at least another eight years before we have to make another lineup change.”

Another reason for delay: the newspaper’s ethical standards required executives at Clear Channel and the Tampa Bay Times to agree on a special policy for handling on air endorsements.

Such promotional announcements, a routine feature for radio personalities who aren’t journalists, draw a premium fee from advertisers.

But traditional journalists rarely directly endorse commercial products, to avoid the perception that their credibility can be bought.

So Jones and Stroud will donate their portion of proceeds from any endorsements to charities selected by the Tampa Bay Times. They will also read a disclaimer announcing the arrangement at the end of each show.

Times editor Neil Brown acknowledged the charity arrangement was new ground for the newspaper, keeping Stroud and Jones from directly profiting by endorsements, though businesses will still be paying for their on air recommendations.

“I was looking to create a bridge between the world of radio and the newspaper world,” said Brown, who retains final approval over each endorsement. “I wanted to inoculate them so their journalism is not compromised.”

Both men have non-newspaper media experience; Stroud has appeared on WDAE and ESPN as an expert analyst while Jones, who once covered the Tampa Bay Lightning, also once hosted a show on Bright House Networks’ sports channel.

They guest hosted WDAE's morning show on a Thursday and Friday in mid-April and stand ready to enter a competitive timeslot which includes sister station WFLA-AM's AM Tampa Bay and WHPT-FM's Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

But the biggest challenge, Jones admitted, may be getting up at 4 a.m. every weekday. “I know that part will be tough,” he said, laughing, “But it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

... Read more

Much as I wanted to love Saturday Night Live's season finale -- which had the double whammy of being both Mick Jagger's return to hosting after umpteen years and star Kristen Wiig's final show as a castmember -- I had one thought when it ended.

Why didn't they just make this show a tribute to Wiig and let her host it?

By far, the most poignant moment was the ending, featuring every castmember dancing and hugging Wiig to the strains of the Rolling Stones songs She's a Rainbow and Ruby Tuesday. Fans who track such things in the press know that Wiig is likely leaving the show after this season.

I say "likely" because neither Wiig nor SNL has actually confirmed this fact, though it was obvious from her tears and the cast's heartfelt hugs that she was hitting the road. It's no surprise for those who read the entertainment press -- in fact, co-stars Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg are also rumored to be exiting the show after this season.

But it's Wiig whose departure will likely be felt most. As the castmember who stepped up most after the departure of stars such as Will Ferrell and Tina Fey, Wiig's original characters -- the deformed Lawrence Welk singer, the crazy Target cashier, the ditzy quiz show contestant, the bizarro aunt movie reviewer -- were more entertaining than her stable of ace impressions, from Kathie Lee Gifford and Michelle Bachmann to Liza Minnelli and Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren.

On Saturday, it was obvious the show wasn't quite sure what to do with Jagger, who didn't have any real product to push and has never been much of an actor. Sure, it was mildly amusing to watch him try copping a California accent, dress up like another fossilized rocker (American Idol judge Steven Tyler) or play an insurance salesman criticizing other people's Mick Jagger impressions.

But his performances with Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters mostly proved he hasn't got much of a voice anymore and the original blues tune he wrote--about the U.S. presidential election??--was mostly distinguished by how much more vibrant guitarist Jeff Beck is these days than Jagger.

It would have been so much cooler to turn Saturday's show into a Wiig tribute, packing the show with her best characters and skits. But instead, viewers had to hang until the show's final moments to see her tear up while everyone from Jon Hamm and Steve Martin to Chris Kattan and Rachel Dratch (?!) hopped onstage to wish her a wonderful farewell.

Our only solace as fans is that we know she'll be back as a host before long.

... Read more