Totally Tracey Online
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
SOTU "the best TV comedy you may never have heard of"
The Vancouver Sun ran a column today that called State of the Union "the best TV comedy you may never have heard of." It began by noting "Being a funny girl, it seems, requires not only the natural gift of comedy but the rather fickle twin fates of timing and taste," comparing Tina Fey's current acclaim to the "cool ambivalence North American fans have long held for Tracey" (I like 'em both, by the way) and then calling SOTU "acerbic, hilarious, slightly inappropriate, satirical, always politically incorrect and wonderfully original."
Labels: State of the Union
Friday, May 02, 2008
SOTU Renewed!
Variety is reporting this morning that State of the Union has been renewed by Showtime for a second season of seven episodes in 2009. Only seven episodes? It's better than the five of the just-completed first season, but still.... And I wonder if the budget for these seven episodes will allow for more guest stars to appear. Not that there's anything wrong with seeing Tracey as so many characters.
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A few things
Well, three episodes of State of the Union have aired, and two more are left in this, its first season. If it were up to me, there would have been more. But consider that many comedy series in Britain run for just 6 episodes, so this is in line with that. Still, I hope there will be a next season -- a longer next-season.
I wonder what SOTU characters are everyone's favorites? I find myself partial to musical pharmacist Padma Perkesh and commentator/blogger Arianna Huffington.
My main work right now is creating the episode guide and commentary for SOTU. But I'm also getting ready to move this site to a new location. There will be a lot of work involved in updating the pages to use the new location instead of this one. When that's done, I'll announce where you can find it.
Undoubtedly, many fans of Tracey are also fans of the late Kirsty MacColl. I'm reading the new biography of her written by her mother, Sun on the Water. Don't look for it in your bookstore unless you're in the UK, for it's not available in the US yet. Amazon.co.uk has it, if you want to brave the extortionate exchange rate between the pound and the dollar. I just received it this week and am reading about Kirsty's childhood. She was taken from us far too soon....
I wonder what SOTU characters are everyone's favorites? I find myself partial to musical pharmacist Padma Perkesh and commentator/blogger Arianna Huffington.
My main work right now is creating the episode guide and commentary for SOTU. But I'm also getting ready to move this site to a new location. There will be a lot of work involved in updating the pages to use the new location instead of this one. When that's done, I'll announce where you can find it.
Undoubtedly, many fans of Tracey are also fans of the late Kirsty MacColl. I'm reading the new biography of her written by her mother, Sun on the Water. Don't look for it in your bookstore unless you're in the UK, for it's not available in the US yet. Amazon.co.uk has it, if you want to brave the extortionate exchange rate between the pound and the dollar. I just received it this week and am reading about Kirsty's childhood. She was taken from us far too soon....
Labels: episode guide, Kirsty MacColl, State of the Union, Sun on the Water
Monday, April 07, 2008
SOTU Guide Updates Delayed
Thanks to a hard drive crash this morning, my update to the State of the Union episode guide for episode 2 was lost, so I'm going to have to rewrite it again from scratch. That wasn't the only thing I lost, either, but I'll spare you the details.
Labels: State of the Union
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Guide to SOTU started
Now that State of the Union has begun, I can announce the beginning of my guide and commentary to the program. Each week, as the episodes air, I'll add to it. It's definitely a work in progress, so things may change.
I also want to send out birthday greetings to Tracey's daughter Mabel, who is 22 today. It may seem hard to believe, but it is true.
I also want to send out birthday greetings to Tracey's daughter Mabel, who is 22 today. It may seem hard to believe, but it is true.
Labels: State of the Union
Saturday, March 29, 2008
One more day
At long last, the day has nearly arrived. State of the Union officially premieres tomorrow. The response from the critics has been mixed; some really enjoy it, while others were disappointed. One of the critics (or maybe it was a blogger) observed that Tracey seems to be a polarizing performer, because people either really like her and what she does, or they don't care for her work at all. There may be some truth to that. It's pretty clear which side of the divide I fall on :)
Thanks to Google search and all of the newspaper websites, I've been able to read scores of reviews from across North America. This was something that was all but impossible 21 years ago, back at the time when The Tracey Ullman Show premiered on Fox. It could have been done with difficulty; you would have had to go to a newsstand that sold out-of-town newspapers and bought as many as you wanted and could afford. It's much easier nowadays -- and less expensive too! But that newsstand might be out of business now....
Thanks to Google search and all of the newspaper websites, I've been able to read scores of reviews from across North America. This was something that was all but impossible 21 years ago, back at the time when The Tracey Ullman Show premiered on Fox. It could have been done with difficulty; you would have had to go to a newsstand that sold out-of-town newspapers and bought as many as you wanted and could afford. It's much easier nowadays -- and less expensive too! But that newsstand might be out of business now....
Labels: State of the Union, The Tracey Ullman Show
Sunday, March 23, 2008
SOTU: A Review
Tracey Ullman returns to comedic series television with a new series, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union (SOTU), on a new network (Showtime, after 14 years with HBO) and with a slightly different approach to skewering the foibles of Americans. It’s been nine years since her HBO series Tracey Takes On… ended, and while she hasn’t been completely absent from the small screen (two seasons of a fashion-related program and two comedy specials for HBO), her voice has been missed. Now, emboldened by becoming an American citizen in 2006, she’s back. Fans will not be disappointed.
The premise of the series is simple. Each episode focuses on a day in the life of America as seen through the lives of its citizens and residents, both famous and unknown. Stock footage and linking narration (provided by Peter Strauss) take the viewer from one vignette to the next. In the course of a single typical episode, the story may flow from the dumping of a woman recovering from surgery on the street due to an inability to pay, to a TV reporter exposing such practices (and noting that the report would be great for her Emmy reel), to blogger Arianna Huffington wondering what to wear to the Bloggy Awards, to a pharmacist advising her elderly client about the side effects of his medication, to a soldier home from Iraq on furlough (a very short furlough) trying to see her son, and finally back to that woman who was dumped.
For those familiar with Tracey’s work from her previous American series The Tracey Ullman Show (Fox) and Tracey Takes On… (HBO), the vignettes are much shorter than a typical sketch on those series. This is a deliberate creative decision to appeal to the YouTube era of shorter attention spans. Some of the characters don’t need more time than this to have their stories told, but some could sustain longer sketches. None of the TTO characters appear in SOTU (although SOTU’s airport security guard Chantal Monticello is very similar to TTO’s airport security guard Sheneesha), but there is no reason why they couldn’t. There are musical numbers, chiefly Bollywood-style in the vignettes featuring Indian pharmacist Padma Prakesh (one of my favorites of the new characters).
Unlike her older American shows, though, SOTU features Tracey impersonating several famous people, among them Arianna Huffington, David Beckham, reporters Campbell Brown and Rita Cosby, Renee Zellweger, Cameron Diaz, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Dina Lohan (Lindsay’s mother) and Andy Rooney. Some of her targets may not care for the treatment they receive.
The inter-related nature of many of the vignettes recalls the interwoven nature of some of the TTO episodes such as Las Vegas, Hollywood and Road Rage, episodes which were and are among my favorites. The linking narration also helps to tie them together. Some of the vignettes work better than others, so if there’s one you don’t particularly care for, wait a minute or two for the next one.
The same spirit behind her previous series is present for this one, so those who didn’t care for her work in those will probably not care for her in this one, either. Diehard fans, though, will welcome her return, their only disappointment being that there are only five episodes in this first season. Let us hope that Showtime picks it up for a second season and beyond, for it will be worth it.
The premise of the series is simple. Each episode focuses on a day in the life of America as seen through the lives of its citizens and residents, both famous and unknown. Stock footage and linking narration (provided by Peter Strauss) take the viewer from one vignette to the next. In the course of a single typical episode, the story may flow from the dumping of a woman recovering from surgery on the street due to an inability to pay, to a TV reporter exposing such practices (and noting that the report would be great for her Emmy reel), to blogger Arianna Huffington wondering what to wear to the Bloggy Awards, to a pharmacist advising her elderly client about the side effects of his medication, to a soldier home from Iraq on furlough (a very short furlough) trying to see her son, and finally back to that woman who was dumped.
For those familiar with Tracey’s work from her previous American series The Tracey Ullman Show (Fox) and Tracey Takes On… (HBO), the vignettes are much shorter than a typical sketch on those series. This is a deliberate creative decision to appeal to the YouTube era of shorter attention spans. Some of the characters don’t need more time than this to have their stories told, but some could sustain longer sketches. None of the TTO characters appear in SOTU (although SOTU’s airport security guard Chantal Monticello is very similar to TTO’s airport security guard Sheneesha), but there is no reason why they couldn’t. There are musical numbers, chiefly Bollywood-style in the vignettes featuring Indian pharmacist Padma Prakesh (one of my favorites of the new characters).
Unlike her older American shows, though, SOTU features Tracey impersonating several famous people, among them Arianna Huffington, David Beckham, reporters Campbell Brown and Rita Cosby, Renee Zellweger, Cameron Diaz, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Dina Lohan (Lindsay’s mother) and Andy Rooney. Some of her targets may not care for the treatment they receive.
The inter-related nature of many of the vignettes recalls the interwoven nature of some of the TTO episodes such as Las Vegas, Hollywood and Road Rage, episodes which were and are among my favorites. The linking narration also helps to tie them together. Some of the vignettes work better than others, so if there’s one you don’t particularly care for, wait a minute or two for the next one.
The same spirit behind her previous series is present for this one, so those who didn’t care for her work in those will probably not care for her in this one, either. Diehard fans, though, will welcome her return, their only disappointment being that there are only five episodes in this first season. Let us hope that Showtime picks it up for a second season and beyond, for it will be worth it.
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
More talk shows - and see SOTU now
Tracey was on The Early Show this morning, but I didn't know about it until after it happened (the Tivo listings didn't flag me). Fortunately, CBS News posted the clip on the Web, so I was able to see her interview. I've already summarized it in my talk show appearances section of the site.
Tomorrow, she's going to be on The View, and then next Monday (24th) she'll be on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS. And SOTU is premiering on the 30th... but if you have video on demand, you can see the first episode now. I have seen it, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll hold off on further comment until after the episode officially premieres.
Tomorrow, she's going to be on The View, and then next Monday (24th) she'll be on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS. And SOTU is premiering on the 30th... but if you have video on demand, you can see the first episode now. I have seen it, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll hold off on further comment until after the episode officially premieres.
Labels: State of the Union, Tavis Smiley, The Early Show, The View
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Tracey on The View March 19
As the start date for State of the Union draws ever nearer, it's time to start checking the TV listings for talk shows where Tracey may be appearing to promote the show. The first of these will be The View on March 19. Yippie! -- um, make that Whoopi!
Labels: State of the Union, The View
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
An interview, and a Facebook page
I got a couple of things to mention today. The first is the official Facebook page for SOTU. The second is another clip from Showtime's SOTU page, which happens to be a short interview with Tracey interspersed with some SOTU clips. Here's that interview:
Labels: Facebook, Showtime, State of the Union
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
A Preview of the State of the Union
Here is one of those video clips I mentioned in my previous post -- the President's Day clip (it may have come and gone, but it's still hilarious viewing):
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
Saturday, February 16, 2008
SOTU Official Site (with promo clips)
For those of us in the US, the official site for State of the Union is now up and running. What you'll find here now are three promo clips that should be airing on Showtime (I haven't seen them yet, though). The oldest one is a First Look at the series; the second is a short interview with Tracey, and the newest is a President's Day clip. In that one, you'll see her as several different characters, both real (Dina Lohan and Andy Rooney) and created (including an updated Sheneesha, still on airport security detail).
Unfortunately for those outside of the US, Showtime is notorious for blocking all access to its site for anyone not in the US. I'm sure someone has devised means for getting around that, but I won't get into that here.
Unfortunately for those outside of the US, Showtime is notorious for blocking all access to its site for anyone not in the US. I'm sure someone has devised means for getting around that, but I won't get into that here.
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
Thursday, January 31, 2008
USA Weekend Who's News Blog
Tracey was interviewed today by Lorrie Lynch for the USA Weekend Who's News blog, thereby getting some early promotion for State of the Union. Readers were asked what questions they wanted to ask, and those formed the basis of the interview. We learned why SOTU is on Showtime rather than HBO (executive Bob Greenblatt moved from HBO to Showtime, and Tracey wanted to continue working with him, so she made the move too), why there are only five episodes in this first series (that's all the budget allowed), what it was like to become a US citizen ("mind-blowing", she said) and who her favorite guilty-pleasure cable news personality is (Rita Cosby of Fox News).
Two months and counting....
Two months and counting....
Labels: citizenship, Showtime, State of the Union
Monday, January 28, 2008
9 Weeks and counting...
It's now 9 weeks until the premiere of State of the Union. I know this because Showtime has just started airing a repeat run of the first season of The Tudors. The tenth and final episode is slotted to air March 30, leading into the first episode of its second season, which in turn leads into the debut of SOTU.
This should be a prime time to watch out for SOTU previews. There was a partial preview last night ("partial" because the promo covered all of Showtime's original programs), and I think I saw a familiar character: airport security guard Sheneesha. Same uniform, but different hairstyle. I wonder how many familiar friends we'll be seeing?
This should be a prime time to watch out for SOTU previews. There was a partial preview last night ("partial" because the promo covered all of Showtime's original programs), and I think I saw a familiar character: airport security guard Sheneesha. Same uniform, but different hairstyle. I wonder how many familiar friends we'll be seeing?
Labels: Sheneesha, Showtime, State of the Union
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
State of the Union -- March 30
Mark the date on your calendars: March 30. That's when the first episode of State of the Union (SOTU) premieres on Showtime. It'll premiere at 10 PM Eastern and Pacific, right after the premiere of the second season of The Tudors. To shamelessly rip off NBC's slogan, that'll be some Must See TV for me.
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The State of the Union
I recently came upon an interview with Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's President of Entertainment, in which he talked about the network's upcoming series lineup. He had quite a bit to say about Tracey's new project for Showtime:
- The official title is Tracey Ullman's State of the Union
- The sketches are very short, no longer than a minute and a half
- There will be recurring characters
- A typical sequence might involve a visit with two women on an Iowa farm, then an interlude with Arianna Huffington in her boudoir, followed by a look-in on a Washington, DC, anchorperson (we must qualify that, you know)
Labels: Showtime, State of the Union
