Dinner At Pink’s

Helaine and I drove to Hollywood last night. Helaine had some goodies for Stef. It’s a 55 mile drive. An hour and a half last night. LA traffic is as advertised.

Stef met us after work.

She’s been to the Golden Globes, SAG and Grammys. She’ll be on the Red Carpet at the Oscars too. Stef’s part of the team that produces the ‘pre-game’ and ‘post-game’ shows on E!. They’ll be live seven hours at the Oscars.

OK, I’m her father. I’m biased. It sounds like a pretty cool job.

I’m especially glad she’s involved in live TV. It’s a rush when you’re on and there’s no turning back. I tried to explain the feeling before she started. Alas, you can’t properly describe an experience.

We brought Doppler along, which limits where we can go. Who cares? She’s an excellent traveler.

We ended up at Pink’s on La Brea. It’s a hot dog stand, built in 1946, still rocking it’s 1946 style. Pink’s is a reflection of LA’s early adoption of cars versus public transport. You could drive up, get out of your car and get a dog!

I had the “HUELL HOWSER DOG – 2 hot dogs in ONE bun – mustard, chili, cheese & onions.” Huell was a well known TV personality whose segments on LA’s quirky native culture are still played, long after his death.

I also had a Dr. Brown’s Cherry. That brings me back to Flushing, as a kid. The taste hasn’t changed. It was magical.

Pink’s no Glenwood! Will someone please tell Rob I said that.

Our drive home was much faster–a little less than an hour.

We’re very lucky to live so close to Stef. It’s a trip we enjoy taking.

Would Someone Please Tell David E. Kelley I’m A Fan?

I have written about Boston Legal in the past, though only peripherally. I would guess it’s my favorite show on television… and one of the few continuing dramas I watch.

Actually, is it a drama or comedy? I’m not sure. The Golden Globes thinks it’s a comedy. It is on film, which makes it a different animal from sitcoms and other taped shows.

I’ve wanted to tell David E. Kelley, the one-man-band behind it, how much I like it, but he is well hidden on the Internet. Trust me. I pride myself on ferreting out people I’d like to contact. He’s really well hidden.

What makes the show so good is it’s character driven. Some characters came in well established. Others have grown over time. The show is organic in that way.

Good character development allows for sometime outlandish situations. I’m willing to forgive where that’s concerned.

James Spader, the lead of leads, is so quirky good that I wondered why I wasn’t a fan of his earlier. Then, I caught something he’d done before and realized, though very good, he’s better with Kelley’s scripts and sensibilities.

The show is not perfect. I’m a huge Candice Bergen fan, but I find her character wanting. I’ve had more than enough with William Shatner’s spouting, “Denny Crane.”

On the other hand, I couldn’t be more pleased with Renee Auberjonois as a tightly wound, humorless curmudgeon and Henry Gibson’s judge.

A few weeks ago I discovered Marisa Coughlan. This being the Internet age I “Googled” her and found she worked in a movie (arguably the worst move ever filmed) where the producer was best man from my wedding.

He told me “Mareeeesa” was very nice. Good. I don’t want my bubbles burst.

It is one of the few shows that gets DVR’ed and watched every time it’s on.

So, if you know David E. Kelley, would you tell him Geoff in Connecticut thinks he’s an amazingly talented person… and I’m almost ready to forgive him for killing off Jason Kravits in The Practice.