If you're watching Milwaukee television, it's hard to avoid political ads for either side in the recall election pitting Republican State Sen. Alberta Darling against Democratic opponent State Rep. Sandy Pasch.
As ubiquitous as they may, they're usually innocuous and it's easy to ignore them (c'mon, if you're voting, you probably have already made your decision).
But I caught one the other night, an anti-Darling spot that put the others to shame in terms of shear awfulness. It's not a Pasch ad, but the product of a political action committee called "We Are Wisconsin."
Here's the 30-second spot, if you haven't seen it yet:
Now, ignore the political point of view for a minute (frankly, it doesn't matter whether this is an anti- or a pro-Darling spot). Because it's just plain silly.
There's the faux Darling, seen from behind in her bright red Alberta Darling suit. First she ignores a working couple, then a senior citizen. Finally, she ignores the pleas of a cute little girl. If only she could have stolen candy from the girl.
The whole thing feels like somebody in the group had a video camera and got some pals together to act the thing out on a Saturday afternoon, with bad pantomime masquerading as acting.
If I was part of We Are Wisconsin, I'd be pretty embarrassed by the schlock job. But from where I sit, in front of my TV set, it's provided some laughs.
Let's hope you can see the humor in its cheesiness, no matter what side you're on in Wisconsin's bitter political divide.
A Wisconsin cook goes home: Wisconsin export Jyll Everman was cut from "Food Network Star" on Sunday night's episode after her twist on a meatloaf recipe – and her less than relaxed on-camera presence – failed to woo the judges.
Everman, 31, who now lives in Glendora, Calif., frequently relied on her Dairyland roots when preparing food on the "reality" competition. The winner gets a show on the Food Network.
Here's her "exit" interview:
On TV: As you'd expect, there's talk that the big three networks are scrambling to get an interview with Casey Anthony, who's been out of the public eye after being sprung from the slammer following her acquittal on charges of murdering her young daughter. TMZ reports NBC is the front-runner.
- AMC says "The Walking Dead" will be back Oct. 16 in the 8 p.m. Sunday slot, an hour earlier than last season.
- MSNBC looks close to naming Al Sharpton as host of its 5 p.m. weekday hour.
- Milwaukee boy Dan Harmon tells TVGuide.com that he's planning fewer "stunt" episodes of his "Community" on NBC next season - at least there won't be two in a row.
YouTube takes a big step: YouTube is taking a big step towards becoming a programming service in its own right with its announcement that it's offering extensive live video from the Lollapalooza Music Festival next month in Chicago.
Here's the trailer for YouTube's ambitious plan:
Tim Cuprisin is the media columnist for OnMilwaukee.com. He's been a journalist for 30 years, starting in 1979 as a police reporter at the old City News Bureau of Chicago, a legendary wire service that's the reputed source of the journalistic maxim "if your mother says she loves you, check it out." He spent a couple years in the mean streets of his native Chicago, and then moved on to the Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA Today, before coming to the Milwaukee Journal in 1986.
A general assignment reporter, Cuprisin traveled Eastern Europe on several projects, starting with a look at Poland after five years of martial law, and a tour of six countries in the region after the Berlin Wall opened and Communism fell. He spent six weeks traversing the lands of the former Yugoslavia in 1994, linking Milwaukee Serbs, Croats and Bosnians with their war-torn homeland.
In the fall of 1994, a lifetime of serious television viewing earned him a daily column in the Milwaukee Journal (and, later the Journal Sentinel) focusing on TV and radio. For 15 years, he has chronicled the changes rocking broadcasting, both nationally and in Milwaukee, an effort he continues at OnMilwaukee.com.
When he's not watching TV, Cuprisin enjoys tending to his vegetable garden in the backyard of his home in Whitefish Bay, cooking and traveling.
