You bet. I'm probably one of the few people who never watched "The Wire", primarily because I got rid of premium cable years ago, and could never figure out the order of those frustrating reruns on other channels. They show up all over the map, often at 2 or 3 am, and I could never find a rhyme or reason as to when they were shown.
I loved "Homicide: Life on the Street", count it among my top 10 shows of all time, and I hear "The Wire" is from many of the same creators, so I know I need to watch it. It's on my list of DVD buys, along with Deep Space Nine... As for "Fresh Air", I subscribe to it through iTunes, and listen to it on my iPod when I'm at the gym or working around the house. They archive shows for months. Speaking of that, did you hear the interview with soul singer Bettye LaVette a few months ago? She sang at the Inauguration Celebration. LaVette's one of those many, many, many singers who's more talented than most of those who ultimately make it, but who didn't catch those breaks herself. But decades later, she's getting some love. Check out Terry's interview with her, it's fascinating: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99777150 Fresh Air from WHYY , January 23, 2009 - If you've never heard of Bettye LaVette, the soul singer who belted out "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi at the Inauguration Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan 18., you may be wondering why. There's a good reason: After a promising start in the early 1960s, when LaVette had a couple of singles that became R&B hits, things just didn't work out for her. The 1972 album she recorded for Atlantic that was supposed to be her breakthrough wasn't released until 2000 when a French producer licensed it from Atlantic and started her comeback. She released her most recent CD, The Scene Of The Crime , in 2007. ----- Original Message ----- From: "ravenadal" <ravena...@yahoo.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 12:52:15 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Actor Idris Elba Starts Run on "The Office" Tonight Thanks for the heads-up. I love "Fresh Air" but, due to a change in my employment, often miss it. I am also a fan of Alba, especially his run on "The Wire" - even though eye was not a "Stringer Belle." I will fire up the webcast. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote: > > This ought to be interesting. If you get time, listen to Elba's interview > with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air". It's pretty long, about forty-five minutes, > and quite informative. For example, Elba really wanted to have his native > London accent in "The Office", since he's so often asked to have an American > accent in his work. The showrunners at first said "yes", but later changed > their minds, to his disappointment. > > ******************************************** > http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101780271 > > > > Fresh Air from WHYY , March 12, 2009 · Actor Idris Elba is best known for > his stint on HBO's acclaimed drama The Wire , where he played Russell > "Stringer" Bell, a drug dealer and aspiring real-estate mogul. > > > > > > Although "Stringer" never made it in the corporate world, Elba will soon be > donning a suit: Starting next week, he'll play Michael Scott's new boss in > NBC's popular prime-time comedy The Office . The trade journal Variety > reported in January that he'll be with the show for a six-episode arc, > playing "a no-nonsense hire at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office who will > throw Michael Scott into turmoil." > > > > > Elba, 36, was with The Wire from 2002 to 2004. He's also appeared in many > movies, including American Gangster , 28 Weeks Later , and Sometimes In April > . He's also a DJ and a singer. The London-born actor stars in the thriller > The Obsessed , due out later this year. He talks to Fresh Air 's Terry Gross > about his work in music and movies, and about life after The Wire. >