Today is the anniversary of the Watergate burglary, the day the word “gate” took on a whole new meaning.
I was just commenting on this the other day after I attended “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He coined the phrase “AssFest 2010″ to commemorate Obama’s pledge to kick some ass in the BP oil spill fiasco. But my first thought was,
“Where’s the gate?”
There have been some great gates over the years. Perhaps it’s a sign of age, but I’d enjoy a look back at some of my favorites. Shall we?
- Billygate — President Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy — the one with his own beer — represented the Libyan government as a foreign agent. That’s okay, Billy. We liked to forget you were an American, too.
- Camillagate — A taped conversation of the then illicit relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles was leaked. (They’re married now, so it’s all good.)
- Fajitagate – I just heard about this one Tuesday in a cab in Modesto, CA. Three off-duty San Francisco policeman arrested two men carrying bags of steak fajitas mistaken for drugs. The chief of police was eventually fired (and the fajitas were eaten).
- Nannygate — Rob Lowe’s nanny sues him for sexual harrassment. Rob Lowe sues her right back, and nothing comes of it. You can’t mess with Rob Lowe. He’s that good-looking.
You’ll notice the original Watergate didn’t make my list. It never will. The hearing coverage preempted the afternoon soaps for weeks.
That kinda thing really scars a kid.
An American Writer
A little over a decade ago, NBC’s fall television line-up included a new drama called “The West Wing.”
Any of those would have worked on me.
But after witnessing the series premiere’s first scene alone — that now famous ‘walk and talk’ through the corridors of the White House — I was hooked. My friends will tell you, I became a huge unpaid front man for the show, constantly trying to get more people on board to watch.
So, no one was prouder than me when “The West Wing” won a record 9 Emmy awards in its first year, including Best Drama. I even hung a banner on my cubicle at Hallmark Cards. (I believe it said, “I told you so.”)
Sorkin’s writing is intelligent and real, always rapid-fire and often preachy when he feels the need to soapbox (which is quite often). I think he was the perfect choice to write “The Social Network,” the movie about the birth of Facebook, which opens today.
I haven’t seen it yet, but the trailers look amazing….and early reviews are glowing. And based on his record, I’ll bet I give Mr. Sorkin a really big “like” for his latest effort.
→ 1 Comment
Posted in Blogging, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Movies, Politics, Television, TV
Tagged A Few Good Men movie, Aaron Sorkin, Emmy Awards, Emmys, Facebook, fall television lineup, Hallmark Cards, Malice movie, NBC, POTUS, Rob Lowe, series premiere, Sports Night tv show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip tv show, The American President movie, The Social Network movie, The West Wing tv show, Washington D.C., White House