Mika Hits #1 In UK

The "flamboyant" (read "gay") Mika in the UK is championing a Scissor Sisters Meets Queen pop sensibility and has quickly topped the UK charts with his first single, "Grace Kelly." On the album side, Amy "I don't need rehab" Winehouse is again on top with her soul CD "Back To Black.

Oscar! The Nominations Are Out!

I literally arrived back in New York moments ago and of course my first thought was looking at the Oscar nominations (tragically, I forgot to tape the morning shows) and then posting my thoughts. Boy am I still reeling and those of you who said I was foolish to think "Dreamgirls" was a frontrunner (hello, Vegas, well you were very right and I was very wrong. "Dreamgirls" has the most nominations, but it didn't get a nod for Best Picture or Best Director. I think I was even more shocked that Almodovar's "Volver" wasn't nominated for Best Picture OR Best Foreign Film (or anything other than Penelope Cruz's terrific central performance. My happiest surprise? Seeing Ryan Gosling nominated for Best Actor in a wide-open field. (Gosling, who is 26, would be the youngest winner in the unlikely event he snagged the award.) "Babel" got lots of love, but none for Brad Pitt. (I loved Peter O'Toole's recent comment that Pitt was very nice and an okay actor.) Finally, if anyone could explain to me why "Borat" is considered an Adapted Screenplay, I would be beholden. Is it because the character first appeared on a TV show? I suppose so.

Here is the official list of nominees.

Here is commentary from the LA Times and the Hollywood Reporter.

The five Best Picture nominees are:

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Frankly, I haven't seen "Little Miss Sunshine" yet (I know, I know) but none of the others will be on my best of the year list.

Popsurfing Has left The Building

I'll try to post once or twice, but look for my definite return first thing Tuesday.

Who Would Be The Perfect Star Of A Variety Series?

Faithful Popsurfer Priv8Pete sent me this email:

I keep seeing those infomercials for The Dean Martin Show and then I wonder who will be the host of the next great variety show. From my calculations I think you’d need to have someone who can sing, has decent comedic timing, and can dance (in that order). Of course this person also needs to be appealing to the masses. So, I’m thinking it would have to be someone in TV or the movies who also works on Broadway on occasion. The best fit to that description that I can come up with is Neil Patrick Harris. What are your thoughts?

I guess he's thinking of someone a la Carol Burnett and in that case Neil Patrick Harris would be a great choice. He's got comic chops, he can sing and dance and he's done Broadway. (Of course, that also applies to Tony Danza.) But an actual variety show -- a la Ed Sullivan -- doesn't need a host who can perform, just someone with great taste who can introduce the acts. This cabaret/theater producer profiled today in the NYTImes would be good for a more limited cabaret show on Bravo or something. But if you want a host who can draw in pop and rock and country and jazz and Broadway performers, who loves world music and cabaret and punk, someone who could keep an eye on interesting comics and offbeat acts from the subway to Prague, why the only possible choice is...ME! Yes, I've YEARNED to launch an Ed Sullivan variety show for years. I know a producer at David Letterman who has a very demanding and wonderful day job who also dreams of a variety show. American Idol is often described as a variety show and while it certainly fills that need, it's not what we typically mean. I'd love a half hour a week on cable, with a rundown Broadway house filled with junk as if it's been vacant for years and I've never been sure if it should have a tiny audience or no audience at all, but it would have the aura of vaudeville. But if you want a performer for a sketch variety show, Harris is a great choice. (I wonder if he's ever guested on SNL?) Any other ideas?

Martha Stewart Copywriting Name Of Her Town

She wants to sell a line of furniture called Katonah Collection, Martha's copywriting the name of the town. The people who actually live there are a little freaked-out and perturbed. Me? I'm copywriting the name "Michael." You wanna use it, you gotta come to me and you gotta PAY. Got it? (Next up: I'm gonna copywrite the word "copywrite." Bet it's never been done.)

New Wilco Album In May, Etc.

Wilco has a new album -- "Sky Blue Sky" -- coming out May 15 on Nonesuch and whatever you think it will sound like, apparently you're wrong.(How do they know that?)

Kanye West is collaborating with Chris Martin of Coldplay (though not perhaps Martin's wife) on his new CD, as well as reunting with Jon Brion, which is wise.

I dig Nashville Star alum Miranda Lambert, who rocked the show with her new single "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and has a new CD out May 1 on which she wrote or cowrote most of the songs.

And finally Bjork remains effortlessly cool. Her new album comes out in the spring (she can't be held to deadlines; this isn't PRODUCT for heaven's sake, it's music) and her collaboraters include Timbaland, Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, Toumani Diabate, Konono No. 1, and a guy from Lightning Bolt, a band so cool I've never even heard of them.

"Idol" Standout Has Police Record

Thomas Daniels, the Idol contestant with the cool fro who did a great job on Amos Lee's "Arms Of A Woman" has two marks against him: a DUI and a hit and run. No word on if he told producers in advance about this. Given the nature's of the incidents, I would assume it won't be an issue, though the Idol people do NOT enjoy being surprised. Presumably, none of this has anything to do with explaining how a clearly talented standout like Daniels could have auditioned twice before and not made it through.

"Dreamgirls" #1 At The Box Office

For the very first time since it debuted on Christmas Day, the musical "Dreamgirls" is #1 at the box office. Even when it grossed a terrific $8.5 million on Dec 25, it was beaten by "Night At The Museum." Sometimes it's fallen to third or fourth or even lower. But the figures for Wednesday, January 17 are in and thanks to slow competition and that Golden Globe win, "Dreamgirls" was the top-grossing movie, at least for one day. If it can keep that momentum going, it might just do it for the entire weekend. Certainly no decent new movies are coming out. And then on Tuesday the Oscar nominations are out.

The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment

Forbes magazine does all sorts of "guesstimating" to come up with the net worth of top women in entertainment. Their methodology wouldn't pass muster in the real financial community -- they don't have access to any private info of course and just sort of take stabs at figuring out what the women are worth. Proving their cluelessness, Forbes eliminated "non-working" women who live off royalties, etc rather than an active career. Their prime example? Barbra Streisand who just went on a highly lucrative tour and in 2004 had a leading role in "Meet The Fockers," her top-grossing movie of all time and one for which she was a huge draw as far as the ad campaign. The top woman? Oprah of course, with some $1.4 billion, followed closely by J.K. Rowling at $1 billion. The entire list is here.

Overnight TV Ratings -- "Scrubs" Flat

The much-hyped musical episode of "Scrubs" (which I haven't watched yet) did poorly opposite the red-hot competition of new episodes from "CSI and "Grey's Anatomy." If it's any consolation, "30 Rock" did even worse at 9:30 p.m. "Smallville," on the other hand, did great by increasing the beefcake quotient and bringing in not one, not two, not three, but four more hunky young superheroes, including Aquaman and a snarky but somehow appealing (to me) Flash. It hit a season-high. The crowing that "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl" had hit season highs (without facing "Survivor") and were finally bona fide hits is overstating the case, especially when you consider what previous NBC sitcoms on Thursday were doing. "Ugly Betty" is the hit at 8 p.m., not them, much as I love 'em. For a complete ratings breakdown, go to MediaWeek's Marc Berman.

8 p.m.
1. Ugly Betty -- 14.1 million viewers
2. CSI (r) -- 12.26 million
3. My Name Is Earl -- 9/73 million/The Office -- 9.29 million
4. Smallville -- 5.25 million
5. Til Death (r) -- 5.09 million/The War At Home -- 4.35 million

9 p.m.
1. Grey's Anatomy -- 21.89 million
2. CSI -- 21.28 million
3. Scrubs -- 6.57 million/30 Rock -- 5.05 million
4. The OC -- 3.95 million
5. Supernatural -- 3.38 million

10 p.m.
1. Shark -- 15.03 million
2. Men In Trees -- 10.71 million
3. ER (r) -- 6.14 million

"30 Rock" Almost Certain To Get Second Season

At the annual TV convention, NBC's head gave every indication that "30 Rock" would return for a second season. His enthusiasm for "Friday Night Lights" was somewhat similar though not as strong. Now if only he could realize "FNL" is a spring-only series that should run on Friday nights without reruns. (Also, "Everybody Hates Chris" has been officially renewed.)

At the same convention, Aaron Sorkin talked about "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip" in an attempt to show he understand the criticisms of the show. Unfortunately, he was so defensive and unintentionally obnoxious, it's clear he DOESN'T understand. “I get it when people write that there’s a smugness to the show, there’s an arrogance to the show,” [Sorkin] said.

“I get it when people write that the characters on the show take doing the television show too seriously.... “Doing a TV show is something I take seriously, and it’s something everybody here takes very seriously. But it’s something that the average person who, for lack of a better word, works a real job, resents slightly because it doesn’t seem like a real job.”

Uh, no. People don't resent the fact that TV people have a fun, high-paying job doing something that should be a blast. They think it's cool and interesting. But people doing "real" jobs don't take their own jobs so seriously. Whether they're UPS drivers or store clerks or accountants or bankers or whatever, they may take pride in their work but they don't act as if the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Heck, Buffy the Vampire Slayer actually DOES save the world and even she doesn't take her job that seriously. People don't RESENT Sorkin because he's got a fun job. They just don't understand why he doesn't take the stick out of his butt. It's a frickin' variety show. You can take your job seriously, yearn to do it well, work really hard and STILL have fun doing it. But not apparently if you're Sorkin. Clearly, he doesn't get it. Not in the least.

O'Reilly Vs. Colbert: It's A Tie

Bill O'Reilly and Stephen Colbert guested on each other's shows last night and it was a friendly, amusing affair. Both treated the situation with the right amount of mock seriousness, with Colbert never blinking in his love and admiration for Papa Bear O'Reilly. (Anything else would have been grossly out of character.) O'Reilly MIGHT have grilled Colbert on his routine in front of Bush at that annual reporter's event and he could have done it in a way that wasn't off-putting. But he didn't. On Colbert's show, O'Reilly continued in a good humor as Colbert showed a picture of O'Reilly's face photoshopped onto a muscle guy in tight shorts, showed off an O'Reilly painting and teased more since he was on home turf. No word on the ratings yet.

If you watched all of O'Reilly, two things struck me. One, the idiots O'Reilly had on to discuss the popularity of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Two, the hot water O'Reilly was in for discussing the poor kid in the kidnapping case and wondering aloud "based on the facts" as O'Reilly repeatedly said, as to why he didn't run away and whether he enjoyed not going to school and playing video games all day. O'Reilly isn't alone in this: the front page of USA Today asked the same question (which left me aghast) and countless reports raised the same question. The fact that the answers as to why are myriad, obvious and speculative don't seem to bother anyone. Obviously, if the kid was molested he might have felt ashamed to come home. He might also have felt ashamed for getting kidnapped and every day he DIDN'T get away increased that shame and feeling he should never have let it happen and should have run away before, making it HARDER to do so now. There's a third kid that vile man might have kidnapped and for all we know this kid watched that other kid be molested and killed. Gee, think that might upset and frighten him? However this kid coped by shutting down in a nightmarish situation, God bless him. The reasons why he felt incapable of running away are something for him and his psychiatrist and family to deal with privately, though it will all come out in court I'm sure. O'Reilly was on better grounds saying he never would have brought his kid on Oprah, but in the same breath saying if he had been offered the interview he would have taken it as well.

"Toy Story 3" In The Works

I thought once Pixar took over Disney that their first order of business would be to end all the endless sequels to hit films. That was supposed to include "Toy Story 3," but according to Variety -- which focused on the 2008 Pixar release "Wall-E" -- "TS3" is in the works for probably 2009. Oh well, at least we know with Pixar in charge that the movie won't go forward unless they're very confident in the script.

Should Muslims Object To "24?"

Not at all. Muslims are upset that in two out of the last three seasons Muslims have been involved in terrorist cells. As FOX point out to USA Today:

"Over the past several seasons, the villains have included shadowy Anglo businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States," the network said. "The show has made a concerted effort to show ethnic, religious and political groups as multidimensional, and political issues are debated from multiple viewpoints."

In the first four episodes, we've seen FBI agents sidestep the law in order to harass and profile a Muslim group. This was portrayed as being objectionable and unconstitutional to at least some people on the show, including the President's sister. Nonetheless, we see the Muslim head of the group be understanding of the pressures the gov't faces and wanting to cooperate before he is arrested and thrown into a holding cell. This treatment is ALSO seen as unconstitutional and wrong and debated vociferously at the highest levels of gov't. Despite this, when this American Muslim overhears what he believes to be crucial information, he immediately arranges to get the info out to the FBI say they can act immediately. Then he insists on going back into holding so he can spy some more, risking his life in order to hopefully prevent a terrorist attack. Jack himself is teamed with a Muslim who has renounced terrorism and wants to encourage a peace process. There is much more on every issue, but in short we see good and bad Muslims of every stripe, just like we have with every other group. Complaining is just not smart. Instead they should recognize this is a show and push the positive portrayals as something to celebrate -- when was the last time American TV depicted an American Muslim in a positive light? Use this opportunity to educate instead of just wishing "24" would go away. It isn't.

"Grease" Is Not The One That We Want

Apparently, the producers of the new Broadway revival of "Grease" crowed too soon about the box office. In the first few days, thanks to tons of TV publicity, the show took in more than $1 million. Great start, except since then ticket sales have stalled. The TV show has endured poor reviews and faces a dilemma -- to create a great Broadway show they need sexy young stars; to create good tv drama they need a wide-ranging cast of characters. Most of the people they put through are CLEARLY never going to be cast in the show. (It's not like "American Idol," where the winners have been all over the map as far as appearances and size and age.) So anyone looking towards the musical would think, why are they wasting my time with that 40 year old guy who is too old to play John Travolta's DAD in the show? But anyone just watching the show would get bored with a bunch of cookie cutter wannabes. And now the producers realize the last revival of "Grease" was a cheapo production that chugged along by stunt-casting celebrities. This production will be led by unknowns. It's gonna have to be great to succeed or people will just go to "Hairspray" instead."

Leave The Boy Alone

I was aghast at yesterday's frontpage headline in USA Today: WHY DIDN'T HE RUN AWAY? It's a natural question when talking about the kid who was kidnapped and held for four years. Heck, friends of mine wondered the same thing and said that if THEY'D been captured they would have never stopped fighting. But those kids who are self-sufficient and capable and outgoing and not easily cowed are exactly the kids who don't get targeted for sexual abuse. I'm sure something similar is involved with choosing kids to kidnap. I hope and assume the kid's family has kept him away from newspapers and tv (though the other kid -- who was held for just a few days complained about the endless coverage being boring). But even if they did, why raise such a spectre of guilt? The simple response is that it's not the job of an 11 year old kid to escape from a frightening situation like that. However he coped or dealt with this nightmare, he shouldn't and mustn't and needn't feel guilty. Of course, with headlines like that he will. The first obvious reason he might have stayed away is that he was sexually abused, which is what his folks told Oprah they believed happened. And of course the kidnapper might have said he'd kill the kids parents or friends. Or the kid -- after a few days -- would start to blame himself for being kidnapped and think his family would be angry at him for not running away sooner. So he would stay. And then more time would have passed and he'd feel guiltier for not running away and on and on. It's not hard to think of a dozen different scenarios as to why this kid wasn't able to break away from this vile man. Do we really need to dig in and see the TV movie and read the nonficiton bestseller to find out why? Leave him alone.

UK Olivier Nominations

Here's the full list. The most notable snub? It's a tie between Kevin Spacey in the acclaimed revival of "Moon for the Misbegotten" and Connie Fisher, the reality show contestant who won the lead in "The Sound Of Music" and garnered absolute rave reviews. To be fair, it was a very tough category this year. I've seen the revival of "Sunday In The Park With George," which was very good and in NYC saw "Caroline, Or Change" and found it worthy. "Frost/Nixon," "Blackbird" and Kevin Spacey's revival of "Moon for the Misbegotten" are all coming to New York and I can't wait.

Overnight TV Ratings -- "Idol" A Monster

MediaWeek's Marc Berman has the final overnight ratings. "Idol" was a monster again, averaging 36.87 million viewers and growing every half hour. That was more than the other four networks COMBINED. You can probably keep that idea in mind for the rest of the season -- "Idol" will continue to blow everyone else out of the water. "Deal or No Deal" and especially "Criminal Minds" proved solid counterprogramming, showing there's no need to throw in the towel as long as you don't mind an audience comprised of 70 year olds. "FNL" was a rerun and down to a typical 4.5 million viewers (not bad for a repeat, actually in this day and age). By the way, I really liked the brother and sister team and can't wondering why the guy with the cool hyair who sang the Amos Lee song had been rejected two times previously (presumably before getting through to the judges). Is there any other show on TV?

"Scrubs" Musical Episode Is Tonight

Tonight, "Scrubs" is airing a musical episode, with songs written or cowritten by the guys from "Avenue Q." I haven't seen an advance, but it sounds like a lot of fun. But if you want to squeeze any fun out of this project, just read the NYTimes review. Here's the lead: "There is something about the urgent pace of technological progress that, no matter how welcome, seems to navigate our tastes in historical reverse." Huh? It gets worse:

It didn’t seem long before the fashion for vacuum-cooked salmon redounded to another fad for meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. The arrival of sleek, heat-retaining microfibers never sent fur on its way, it only seemed to heighten a demand for everything ermine, sable and pouffy. YouTube certainly exists in no small part to indulge our nostalgic affinities. And television, for its part, has displayed a recent interest in what some have long considered entertainment’s hoariest form, the musical.

Aargh, nothing worse than fake, tongue in cheek pseudo-intellectual claptrap. YouTube exists to indulge our nostalgic affinities? I thought it existed to show stupid clips of people making soda bottles fizz over and watch stupid home videos. And who thinks the musical is the hoariest form of entertainment? Really, with "Chicago" and "Dreamgirls" and "Spring Awakening" on Broadway and Outkast making "Idlewild" and the omnipresent musical allure of music videos and "High School Musical" the biggest phenomenon of the year? To top it off, they just assume the new Disney TV movie "Jump In!" -- about competitive jump-roping -- is a musical. It ain't.

Digital Music Sales Hit $2 Billion Worldwide

That's 10% of all music sales. By 2010, the music industry thinks digital sales will hit 25%. And then everyone's computers will crash, they'll curse themselves for not backing them up and then realize they've lost all those digital tracks for good and curse themselves again for not sticking with CDs like me.

Steven Seagal Sings

Delta Blues, to be precise. But don't jump to conclusions -- he's been playing the guitar since he was a kid and loves the pretty ladies. I guess the guy is a rock star after all.

MPAA Gives A Facelift To Ratings Strategy

They don't really make any substantive changes to the ratings system that is such a farce and encourages violence while denigrating sex and intimacy. But the MPAA was shamed by a recent documentary into making a few modest changes. Their idea of transparency is to post online the rules they used to keep shrouded in secrecy for no reason. Also, the three top raters who have always been public -- why, their basic info will be posted online as well. And golly, if you just can't wait to find out what the rating will be for upcoming movies like "Spider-Man 3," the MPAA offers an absurdly unncessary email alert system that tells you the latest ratings. (I suppose the hundreds of milions of dollars spent on ads by the studios every year doesn't get the word out enough?) Most substantively, they will let filmmakers actually refer to other movies on appeal -- saying,hey you let "Taxi Driver" show this, why can't I?" But most board members will remain anonymous, they refuse to really clean up the requirements or fulfill their own standards for "parents" (one board member whose kids have grown up will retire), and the undue influence of religious figures on what should be a non-partisan secular process continues in the shadows. Finally, there's no reason to think they won't continue lapping up violence while being turned off by sex of any sort.

Ariel Kicks Belle's Ass

The Broadway musical "Beauty and the Beast" ends its run this July to make room for "The Little Mermaid" in December. Why not "Tarzan" ask many? Disney says merely that "Tarzan" is good promotion for the European and tour versions of that new show. But whatever the advance, the show is still grossing $600,000 on a bad week.

Humorist Art Buchwald Dies

Buchwald was a delight -- a non-partisan commentator on life and food and politics who made cutting jibes that were never cruel but always funny and true. A typical joke skewered the communist scare.

In the early 1960’s, Mr. Buchwald theorized that a shortage of Communists was imminent in the United States and that if the nation was not careful, the Communist Party would be made up almost entirely of F.B.I. informers.

Now, he's dead. Hilariously, Buchwald and the NYTimes filmed his obit interview -- the somewhat gruesome tradition of interviewing famous people in the twilight of their lives, not for a feature but for an obituary. It isn't always made clear, but everyone knows what's going on. Buchwald has fun with this and the video is posted online.

"Idol" Dominates Again

The breakdown isn't available yet, but the overnights show "American Idol" remaining almost exactly where it was last night, with about another 37 million viewers. Yes, my beloved "Friday Night Lights" was crushed, but it was a last-minute rerun and (small comfort) at least it wasn't beaten by "Beauty and the Geek" on CW. That's called clutching at straws.

Some more thoughts on the show: still very entertaining and well done, with a handful of interesting acts getting through (though the tall chick and the Shakira-wannabe won't last long, I don't think). But there was a slightly less friendly tone, especially from Ryan Seacrest. He got a little stone-faced with some of the kids, letting them dangle on camera awkwardly when it wasn't necessary. And I DO wish they'd post an exit sign on the right-hand door so the judges don't have to keep muttering "other door" when the kids try to leave. But after five years of excruciating auditions, you can see Randy and even Paula less willing to endure the truly awful, just like Simon. Of course we don't see most auditions because mostly they just say sorry and move on. But when someone can literally not even hit a single note -- like the guy singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- I'd defy even Mother Teresa not to giggle after a day of misery. And always remember: the "Idol" auditions are far nicer than a real-life audition any day. In real life, you'd just get five seconds and be cut off with a "NEXT!" On "Idol," they actually try and take a moment to convince you that a singing career is NOT an option. For the delusional, this is actually a nice thing.

Billboard's Top 10 Songs

Beyonce stays on top for seven straight weeks and Justin Timberlake has three songs in the top 20. But the big news is the kids from Disney. They're proving the most potent pop force since "American Idol." The top debut of the week is from the new Disney TV movie "Jump In!" -- Jordan Pruitt hits #69 with "Jump To The Rhythm." And "High School Musical" alum Ashlety Tisdale debuts at #77 with her solo debut single "He Said, She Said." The top 10, per Billboard:

1. Beyonce -- "Irreplaceable"
2. Akon -- "I Wanna Love You"
3. Fergie -- "Fergalicious"
4. Nelly Furtado -- "Say It Right"
5. Akon featuring Eminem -- "Smack That"
6. Jim Jones -- "We Fly High"
7. The Fray -- "How To Save Life"
8. Justin Timberlake -- "My Love"
9. My Chemical Romance -- "Welcome To The Black Parade"
10. All-American Rejects -- "It Ends Tonight"

Daytime Soaps Have One Foot In The Grave

NBC's goofy daytime soap "Passions" is cancelled and will be gone by June. And the "Days Of Our Lives" contract is up in 2009 and NBC entertainment head Kevin Reilly says the news department is going to take over a chunk of daytime programming. Soaps cost too much money and just don't pull in the viewers anymore. Ratings have plummeted from even where they were just ten years ago. CBS has the relatively dominant lineup. Maybe if NBC pulls out of the soap business, that could help CBS (and ABC) survive for years to come. And with DVR and Tivo technology, even folks who aren't stay-at-home parents have no excuse for missing their shows. But soap operas are clearly on the ropes.

XM and Sirius CAN'T Merge

That's the implied word from FCC chairman Kevin Martin, who wastes his time censoring primetime TV shows because of complaints from a tiny but angry group of activists and who looks the other way when payola is rampant in radio. Meanwhile, satellite radio has tons of competitors from regular radio to digital radio to cable radio and is having trouble surviving with two duplicate services, but Martin would rather see both fail than a combined version succeed.

Kyra Sedgwick Stays Close To "The Closer"

Actress Kyra Sedgwick signs a new contract to stay with her hit drama "The Closer" for four more seasons. Per Hollywood Reporter, the $250,000 to $300,000 she'll be getting per episode makes Sedgwick one of the highest paid actresses on TV. Since no woman dominates a hit sitcom (where much bigger paydays can be had), I guess that's true. It's a fun, eccentric role that's often better than the mysteries she solves, much like the more comic Monk. But more power to her.

Ali Turns 65

Happy birthday to Muhammad Ali, one of those icons who transcends sports. The NYTimes has a nice essay about Ali (that you can't read online unless you're a paid subscriber) that bemoans the fact that we couldn't see Ali when he was at best because he was banned from boxing for refusing the draft. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison. But of course, that WAS Ali at his best -- refusing the draft but staying in the US and taking the legal consequences rather than fleeing overseas was a principled stand that anyone could respect, regardless of their feelings on the war. Most people didn't respect it at the time, mind you, but history has judged him well.