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So all the overhype leading up to this show turned me off ahead of time. That and the thought that it was going to be a Glee-wannabe. I really hate when people cheapen original ideas by making knock-offs. I was sure I would not tune in. Then, I read a review that basically told me to discount this show as a Glee for adults b/c the music numbers are not the focus. So, I said, hmm, maybe I'll check it out. I am glad I did. The only relation this show has to Glee is it includes occasional singing and dancing (which all revolves around rehearsals/auditions for the musical). The show is not built around musical numbers. It is more a procedural that gives an insider perspective of Broadway and all the drama/reality of theater production. Also, not an American Idol fan so the idea of a runner-up being the star, also turned me off. Again, I have to stop assuming. Katherine McPhee was pretty good. Her chemistry with her boyfriend was very natural and their scenes were a big highlight for me. He's also a good unknown actor. I also am not a Debra Messing fan (ugh she drives me crazy) but she didn't annoy me either. My only favorite show of this season is Once Upon a Time which is very trippy and requires me to pay attention. This was a nice change from that. It was engaging and entertaining. I hope it gets stronger as the season goes on and I'm willing to give it a chance.

Black Hawk Down is a masterfully done film on a conflict that occurred in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993. The Army's elite Rangers and Delta Force were sent on a basically US political public relations mission to show that the huminatarian Americans would do all they could to thwart the genocide occuring in Somalia and more discreetly to save face. These units were not sent to Somalia until the politicians recieved negative press when Time Magazine ran an issue with a starving Somalian boy on the cover. This film however only deals with the political issues of the conflict in the opening moments of the film to give the viewers a brief synopsis of how the efforts in Somalia had reached the point they had. After that the story is shown from the perspective of the men who were there, no politicians, no humanitarians, simply elite soldiers trained for combat, to protect freedom and humanity. The film opens the day before the conflict giving a brief view of life in Somalia for these soldiers. The film offers no deep analysis of individual, independent characters just simple overviews of a few. This film shows war as a whole effecting every soldier and person with no man being more important than the next, each death being a terrible loss. I praise Ridley Scott for leaving out all the meaningless banter and frivolous political hooplah and getting down to the gritty, simple fact that in the midst of war only the people within it matter. I haven't seen this as masterfully done since Platoon was made. After seeing Pearl Harbor I worried filmmakers had lost the concept of what truly mattered in a war film and what the truly important effects of war are. The only good part of Pearl Harbor was the actual attack. Thus this film was a breath of fresh air leaving you with the impact of what occured on October 3rd and nothing else. Allowing you to understand how these men were forever joined together in one day without needing the characters to tell you how they were changed. But understanding it because the film viewer is too changed forever. Understand that this film is an American perspective on what occurred and the impact on American soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for people they didn't even know. The absolute powerful and moving display of heroism at its very core.