Well, I guess the media drumbeat will stop now. Bill Clinton says that ‘24’ tries to be ‘fair’ and shows both conservatives and liberals as baddies, even though the co-creator Joel Surnow is part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Well, Clinton didn’t call it that, he called Surnow an ‘uber right-wing guy.' The Hollywood Reporter reveals Clinton’s betrayal of liberal meme to TV advertisers at the TV Land upfront presentation during a Q & A with ad buyers:
Fielding written queries from ad buyers, Clinton played TV critic, saying he loves watching baseball and football on television and picked ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" as his favorite show.
"And even though an uber right-wing guy writes it, '24,' " said Clinton, who added that he enjoys the fact that conservatives and liberals alike can be the bad guys in the show.
"They're trying to be fair," Clinton said.
In that one moment, Clinton tore asunder the grand conspiracies of Keith Olbermann, who is now finding some other TV show to blame for Republicans and conservatives existing, because in his mind, it must be magical hypnotic TV 'rays' beaming directly into people’s brains. Like Tipper Gore, who headed the ‘80s music-censorship organization, the PMRC, which blamed bad teen behavior and suicides on that evil rock and roll music, Olbermann thinks that ‘24’ is ‘naked brainwashing.’ Well, not according to Bill Clinton.
Clinton lists his other TV fave, which isn’t much of a surprise:
And he appreciates "Boston Legal" for the dynamic between William Shatner and James Spader. "It's something to behold," he said.
Ah, ‘Boston Legal,’ now there’s a show that is 'fair' and portrays conservatives and liberals equally. I quit watching once every bad guy had conservative 'characteristics' which prompted James Spader’s character to deliver a scathing speech that put the evil conservative in his or her place and brought liberal viewers to their feet cheering. It’s like watching ‘The West Wing,’ but more partisan.
The former president was at TV Land’s upfront presentation because 1) he’s apparently a big nighttime TV viewer, 2) his wife is running for president, 3) he likes TV Land and 4) like most politicians, he likes to hear himself talk, usually about himself--although, it was mostly for #2. He explains his motivation for putting down the remote and the carmel flavored Quakes and going to the TV Land presentation to speak truth to media power:
President Clinton revealed himself to be a devoted viewer of TV Land at the network's upfront presentation.
Clinton said Friday that he enjoys "All in the Family," "I Love Lucy" and "The Andy Griffith Show" and is catching up on "Bonanza" at night while trying to write a book on citizen activism.
"As you know, my wife is away, so I'm home alone a lot," Clinton said of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. "I'm particularly grateful to TV Land for giving me something to do at night."
So, Bill Clinton is spending ‘a lot’ of time at home alone? OK. Well, these comments are good news for the Fox network’s show, because apparently, ‘24’ is now Blue State friendly. Hooray! Come on over to the darkside of TV. Let the ‘naked brainwashing’ begin.
