Okay, I´ve kind of stayed away from pop culture, but I´ve got to say something on this one: What were they thinking??? The BBC´s version of "Coupling" is intelligent, sexy, and funny. The US version is - well, I don´t know beyond one rapid-fire line after another.

Just one example: In the UK version, where Steve tells Jeff he´s a "strange and disturbing man," it´s an affirmation to the audience. They already have sussed that Jeff is quite bizarre. In the US version, it´s a cue to the audience: "Believe us, Jeff is strange. We just don´t have the time or inclination to show you." Jane is another example. Before Steve can open is mouth to break up with her in the UK version, it is quite plain that Jane is from another planet. Not Venus. Somewhere more distant. In the US, we get Jane´s strange haircut as the only cue.

If NBC had extended the pilot to an hour, there would have been time to establish the characters. As it is, we just looked at the TV and went, "huh?"

Now that I´ve dispensed with the rant...

One thing I really like about "Coupling" is that it gives the audience credit for having a few living brain cells. Yes, the subject matter is mature, but does not sink to the level of disgusting. (Okay, perhaps Jeff in that leather suit...)

I will give them a few more weeks, to see the original episodes if nothing else. But I´m not going to hold my breath.

9/28/2003 6:55:00 PM

6. It´s okay to stop in the "no stopping" lane and let six kids and their sports equipment out of your van. Don´t worry that 20 feet in front of you the carpool lane is empty as far as the eye can see. Your kids MUST get out right in front of the door.

7. Parking in the carpool lane is fine; just do it as close to the entrance of the lane as possible and turn on your flashers. No one will care.

Yeah, I´m peeved. We just started high school this year. I thought things were bad in elementary and middle school, but the high school carpool lane takes the cake. What´s wrong with having your child (providing he or she is perfectly healthy and not particularly overloaded with books and/or projects) walk a few extra feet to get to the door of the school? And particularly if that kid is in athletics.

When my child was in elementary school, we had a parent committee that stood in front of the school and helped direct traffic. The principal was glad to have someone out there as elementary schools don´t normally rate police assistance before and after school. We were shocked at the verbal abuse some parents lashed out because they were asked to pull forward a couple of car lengths to let their kid out. They were probably the same ones who drove back into the street and cursed and honked at the traffic backed up from the carpool lane.

I certainly understand that when children get into middle and high school there´s athletic gear, band instruments, etc., and they certainly don´t belong in the cab of the car for safety reasons. The smartest thing I saw at middle school was one parent who had color-coded laundry baskets in the back of her van. Each kid stowed his or her gear in their basket, and it was easy to for them to find their things and move out of the way quickly. I never found out the identity of that parent, but I´m certain she has the undying gratitude of other frustrated carpool lane parents.

And you know, I really don´t have a problem with parents driving their kids to school. Between the books and the gear, it´s hard for an adult to manage all that much less a kid. And when an ungaurded crosswalk on a street packed with commuter traffic lies between you and the school, it seems prudent to drive. Even the most careful of folks have a tough time crossing a street where traffic whizzes through the school zone at 40 MPH. They´d go 50 if the light wasn´t flashing. (Where are the cops? They do patrol when they can, and catch plenty of speeders when they do. But I realize that they can´t be at every school zone every day, and so do the speeders, unfortunately.)

Okay, it´s time to get off of my soapbox and go get some real work done...

8/28/2003 6:58:34 AM