The Environment Gets Funny

Back in November, NBC promoted Green Week, the second annual, week long effort on every show the network airs (from daytime soaps to late night comedy) to promote the concept “Green Your Routine” by including bits and pieces of environmental jargon, product placement, conversation or practice. Would this concept fly? Would the nation believe that two people could walk down the hall of wherever they work (even if it is a secret Government agency or police precinct) discussing things like global warming or recycling?

Considering the average person may actually discuss these issues off the cuff in their day to day lives, there were plenty of ways to fit it into scripts without sounding preachy. There are characters that have always had an eco edge, prompting all of us to subconsciously absorb smart practices. For example, the character of “Munch” on Law & Order: SVU was talking about the benefits of recycling years ago. This is all well and good for the shows that can casually drop in a line or pan out from a wind farm as the characters run to save the world or something, but when it comes to the live shows there is an inherent challenge to make eco-speak flow as if it was a completely normal part of daily speech; it is one thing to show a five second frame of Chuck recycling a water bottle but it is quite another to get eco in stand up comedy.

Comedians sometimes use the reverse psychology method to bring awareness. They mention all the things they “do” which the public can infer as a joke, laugh at, but subsequently become more aware of in the process. Laughter can be an amazing tool for learning. Done completely tongue in cheek, Conan O’Brien from Late Night told all of us how to be more environmentally aware in our daily routines, even though he simply can not follow suit.

My Own Worst Enemy Is a Three Leaf Show

Last night was the premiere of a new show on NBC, My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater as a split personality -- spy killer / family man. It was interesting to see how NBC worked with the concept of the show and how Slater played the character but that was not what grabbed my attention.

(Please note I am about to reveal some stuff that happened in the first episode so if you didn't watch it and want to catch up first, stop reading now and go here. Just make sure you come back.)

A little over half way through the show family man (Henry) gets a visit from a couple bad guys who know Edward (spy killer). Edward had stolen a case from them and through a series of events with a shovel and GPS tracking device, it is discovered that he buried it in a wooden crate about six feet down somewhere in the middle of the desert. As the bad guys sit and watch Henry dig up the case, the ring leader, known as Uzi, asks his non-English speaking cronie to get him some water which we all read on the subtitles. The cronie goes to the back of the car and when he comes back we all expect to see him hand over a plastic bottle right? Much to my surprise and delight he hands over a brand new, shiny, burnt orange colored, metal Sigg style reusable bottle! In the next ten seconds while it makes its appearance on film, he essentially guides our sub-conscious through how to use one by opening and drinking from it right there on camera. Hooray for NBC!

Sadly, the bottle, and the bad guys, are blown up in the next shot but at least there will not be a non-biodegradable plastic bottle melted to the hand of the bad guy for a vulture to come and snack on right?

Because of the clever placement of such a hip product as a reusable metal water bottle and the fact that the show has a certain "I-never-would-have-expected-it-but-I-kind-of-like-it", 24-esque feel, I am giving last night's episode a Three Leaf Rating. Kudos NBC, keep up the good work.