Careening through Ireland

By Liam Satre-Meloy

DUBLIN, Ireland -- My previous dispatches have all dealt with or commented on rather significant social or cultural phenomena I encountered while in Spain. This dispatch, however, differs in two ways: First, I wrote it while traveling in Ireland; second, it is utterly frivolous.

I met my friend Kevin Connolly in Dublin, and we stayed at a Carmelite Monastery -- Gort Muire -- with his third cousin once removed, who is a resident priest there. The Rev. Billy is a wonderful human being with an extremely large heart, a totally selfless disposition, a fabulously dry and often sardonic sense of humor and a set of the worst driving skills I have ever witnessed.

Billy took Kevin and I on a driving tour of the scenic countryside surrounding Dublin, including a stop at Glendalough -- a nearby 12th century Monastic site. On the way back to Gort Muire, preferring to avoid highways or interstates, Billy took "the back way" through a series of narrow, winding country roads, where we got lost. Eventually, it got dark. And somehow, much to the frustration of Billy, we ended up rolling out onto the freeway.

This is where I got really worried. Billy's driving was almost stomachable on empty roads. However, this was a Saturday evening, and the freeway was filled with speeding cars, which agitated Billy greatly. While trying to keep up with the flow of the freeway traffic, he was also desperately trying to find an appropriate exit. After about five minutes on the freeway, we suddenly swerved toward the left side of the road.

The exit Billy intended to take may have been under construction, which would have explained the abrupt 45 degree turn the pavement took after departing from the freeway. I can't be sure.

Regardless, the large fluorescent turn arrow markings and the large sign that said "20 Km" clearly marked that the exit was unusual and dangerous. Barreling directly down the rough space between the exit lane and the freeway (the part of the road that's typically marked with a hundred or so diagonal yellow lines) we were headed directly toward the meeting point of the freeway's and the exit's guard rails.

Throughout the entire drive, we had kept our mouths shut, gritting our teeth, grasping the car's "oh shit" handles as the car careened around corners. Here though, we couldn't help ourselves. Kevin flung out his arms toward the dash, screaming, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" I grabbed the headrest in front of me and yelled "RIGHT!" At the last moment possible (or at least it felt like the last moment), Billy swerved back onto the freeway, muttering only, "Alright." He took the next exit. We arrived safely back at Gort Muire.

It would take a lot to get me in a car with him again.A review of television's best and worst 2006

In case you missed out, a guide for the good, bad, and ugly on the tubepic_01_opt.jpgSci Fi's Battlestar Gallactica has a cult following and is worth watching this TV season.www.scifi.com2006 was an utterly inexplicable, sometimes depressing, yet ultimately satisfying year of television. Seinfeld alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy for a show nobody watches. Heather Graham took another step toward the waiting arms of the porn industry by virtue of her much-hyped ABC vehicle "Emily's Reasons Why Not," which was canceled after one episode. Fox decided to cancel "The OC" because the show had lost more than half its ten million viewers since debuting in 2003.

Yet, the biggest news in the industry was that The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, purportedly to make channel surfing a little easier for their seven combined viewers.

* Restricting premises

"Lost" and "Prison Break" continue to be backed into a corner because of their highly restrictive premises, with "Prison Break" being far more successful at breaking out of it thus far.

* Reality TV

Bravo attempted to launch reality shows centered on cooking ("Top Chef"), real estate ("Million Dollar Listing"), and fitness ("Work Out") on the coattails of "Project Runway" without realizing that fashion design is just a little bit sexier and more interesting than selling houses.

* New season failures

NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," created by Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing") and starring TV vets Matthew Perry ("Friends") and Bradley Whitford (also of "The West Wing"), proves that prior success rarely translates to the here-and-now for television viewers.

Through all the adversity the discriminating couch potato has had to face, however, there are a few shows worth noting as some of the best the tube has to offer.

* Not your nerdy little brother's sci-fi

Entering its third season, recent Peabody Award recipient "Battlestar Galactica" is, without a doubt, the smartest and most thought-provoking show on television. Series creators Ron Moore and David Eick have taken the basic premise of the 1978 British series of the same name and molded it into the perfect vehicle for pointed commentary of American foreign policy.

The show's trademarks are its ambiguity (as you'll often find that it isn't always easy taking sides in the war between the humans and the Cylons) and its understated approach to storytelling.

Deaths are handled without sentimentality, and the minimalist dialogue serves to bury the subtext of each conflict that much more, making for an incredibly engaging viewing experience. Airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on Sci-Fi (LINC channel 54 at 6 p.m.).

* Nancy Drew as a sociology professor

Also entering its third season, "Veronica Mars" (which began on UPN and has moved to The CW) is the evolution of everything that was brilliant about WB dramas like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

The writing is spot-on, the acting pitch-perfect and the episodes impeccably paced.

The series, starring Kristen Bell as the titular character, is a deft mix of mystery, suspense, teen drama and class. It captivates by offering something more than just love stories, which is an obstacle that has doomed other shows like "Dawson's Creek" and the aforementioned "The OC."

In fact, you might find yourself much more interested in the mysteries Veronica solves, or in how the show examines issues of class and race by way of its SoCal, ruled-by-the-rich, white kids setting. Airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (LINC channel 12 at 6 p.m.).

* For something completely different

"Lincoln Heights" premiered on ABC Family on January 8, but the network had offered viewing of the pilot for free online or as a download on iTunes a week before.

The one-hour drama is centered on a middle-class African-American family who moves into an urban area and has trouble adjusting.

Among the myriad of conflicts between Eddie Sutton (played with seasoned gravitas by Russell Hornsby) and his neighbors, who distrust him because he's a cop, and Eddie and his family, who never wanted to move to the area in the first place is, perhaps, the most interesting conflict of all: that between the show and its audience.

It remains to be seen whether or not a show set in an urban neighborhood with an all-black cast can succeed with ABC Family's core demographic, especially considering that "Lincoln Heights" is just about as gritty as a family show can get (someone is stabbed in the pilot, for example).

Nevertheless, it's a well-written show that doesn't seem to exhibit any signs of preachiness.

It's a slice of life, just one different than mainstream America is used to (or maybe wants to acknowledge).

Be sure to pay attention to Nicki Micheaux's performance as Eddie's wife, Jen. Often serving as the voice of reason to Hornsby's idealistic Eddie, Micheaux steals just about every scene she's in and really gets the most out of material. Airs on ABC Family Mondays at 7 p.m. (LINC channel 30 at 4 p.m.).

* Yet another show about doctors

I have decided to institute a personal lifetime ban on "Grey's Anatomy."

While I enjoy both Katherine Heigl ("Roswell") and Sandra Oh ("Sideways," "Hard Candy"), as well as staring into Patrick Dempsey's positively McDreamy eyes for prolonged periods of time, I just can't bring myself to watch another show about doctors (especially one that made Snow Patrol and The Fray famous).

* A challenge

If you are a fan of "Grey's" and want to convince me to watch the show and write an article featuring it, send me an e-mail explaining why I should do so.

Contact David Wonpu at dwonpu@scu.edu.