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| bartist |
 Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 12:07 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| Wow. Well, they managed to retire Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure when Hartman died, but it's hard to imagine the series minus Burns, Flanders, and Skinner. Hey diddley ho. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 12:28 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| The latest word is that contract negotiations have been renewed and there's still hope that Shearer won't leave. It sounds as if he does so many of the Springfield characters that the Simpson family would have to move to another town and collect a new group of neighbors, co-workers, and school administrators. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 10:42 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Any comments on "Mad Men"? I must admit I was surprised by the upbeat finish--even the person with the terminal illness was doing things her way. (And if Hamm doesn't get an Emmy this time, there ain't no justice in this world.) |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 8:49 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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SPOILER ALERT FOR "MAD MEN" FINALE There will be a lot of talk talk talk about the last episode of "Mad Men," and a great deal of it will be disparaging. You won't hear that here, however. I thought Matthew Weiner managed a superb mix of wrapping-up, on-the-nose happiness, earned tears, and appropriate and emotionally satisfying ambiguity. My only complaint was the fast, rushed, though funny and much-desired Peggy-Stan connection, which was such a rom-com cliche that it seemed like a self-parody. Even that complaint, however, was washed away by the charm of the scene.
People are bound to grouse about the "Sopranos"-like open ending for Don Draper, but I loved it beyond description. First of all, how amazing was Jon Hamm in this episode? If he doesn't finally win every award in sight (now that Bryan Cranston is out of competition) I will be hard to live with. But as for happy endings, this one for me is unalloyed. I want to see Don back working with Peggy, now dressed in jeans rather than Brooks Brothers, creating sentimental new-age commercials influenced by his own emotional breakthroughs and hard-won experience. And (despite the inevitable scolds who will cite Don's shallowness and unshakable adman vibe) I am satisfied with this end to Don's journey. You see, in spite of Don's status as a genuine anti-hero, I'm with Betty--who after all the sturm und drang, still says "Don, honey," and gets verklempt when he calls her "Birdie." In other words, I love Don Draper and always will. And, oh, yes, I cried. For sure.
P.S. Someone on the web suggested that Don might be the one to walk Peggy down the aisle when she marries Stan. Wow. Do I ever love that idea. But thank higher power, Matt Weiner will never do a sequel. Met him recently, and he's not that kind of guy. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 6:44 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| Dave says goodbye tonight. Haven't watched too often in recent years, but might look in on this historic moment. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 1:42 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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Funny but dignified last Letterman show. No mawkish sentimentality. I shall miss him, a 33 year old habit!
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 10:15 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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The Letterman finale hit all the right notes--appreciation for his crew and audience, as well as for his family and his guests, and a genuine feeling of sincerity and gratitude for his success. I'm glad Bill Murray showed up as well--having been his opening guest so often, and his "final" guest on Tuesday, he had a right to be there at the very end. With a good "Top Ten" quip. (My mother and I actually went to a taping of Dave's morning show, back before he got into late night--she was a fan, though I'd seldom seen him at that point. Unfortunately, I never got around to seeing the Late Night show at the theater, in spite of working just a few blocks away.)
Speaking of Tuesday's show, what about that Bob Dylan performance? I was expecting him to do the usual, of course, but then he came out with a rather sweet rendition of "The Night We Called It a Day." (I wonder how many people thought it was a Dylan original--not having my '50s Sinatra albums on hand.) |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 12:33 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| My sigboth and I, who watched Letterman at different times in the past, watched the finale and then a few minutes of the Late Late that followed and paid some tribute to Dave. I was pleased that someone (the Late Late limey guy) had noticed, as I have over the years, that when Dave goes out to greet a guest band, he always turns to the drummer and ask, "Are those your drums?" The montages were great and reminded us what a creative force he was and is. The top ten assemblage of the giants of American comedy (not counting Barbara) had touches of both roast and hommage. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| knox |
| Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 10:03 pm |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1245
Location: St. Louis
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carrobin wrote: bartist wrote: I bailed on Awake after about 5 episodes. Did they say which was real, red world or blue world? Or both were generated by a coma brain? I bailed, so why do I care?
None of the above. [whiting out in case anyone decides to buy the DVD set] But his double self resolved a drug-ring system within the police department that had led to the effort to kill him that resulted in the deaths of his wife and son, and when it was wrapped up and the head of the department was arrested, he dozed off and woke up at home with both wife and son still there. It did get a bit confusing toward the end, but it worked.
...and 3 years later, I see the series is on Netflix, and somehow I cant resist, so here goes and I will report back on any inspiration, insight, or epiphany that may strike. Or befuddlement, because who doesn't enjoy a mind in conflict with itself. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 10:36 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| For some reason, I started watching after your alert, Knox, and now am really sucked in (and averting eye from spoilerage). Why I didn't stick, 3 years ago, is obscure to me. The series is brilliant. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 4:26 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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| Why was I not raving my head off about "Awake" three years ago? Man, this show is amazing, multilayered (psychological drama, police procedural, metaphysical mystery, surreal journey into grief and loss, paranoid thriller....probably more I'm not articulating here....) and Jason Isaac is perfect. Why is there not more Jason Isaac in the tv universe? Supporting cast is also great. WTF did they cancel this (probably what I mean is WTF didn't more people watch this brilliant show?)? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 9:16 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I remember liking "Awake" and being disappointed when it was canceled and forced to end with a somewhat unsatisfying wrap-up. It's interesting to speculate on how far it might have taken the concept. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 11:25 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6944
Location: Black Hills
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Saw the finale "Turtles All the Way Down," and it was okay, but I have to agree it was sort of unsatisfying. I couldn't tell if Mike (Isaac) had entered yet another dream realm (as the Green World shrink was warning of) or if he had truly awakened to a world where the car accident never happened. It just felt kind of tacked on, snipping off loose threads rather than following them to where they might lead. At one point in the series, I thought they were setting up a romance between Mike and his son's tennis instructor, which made me think that the Red World, with Hannah, might ultimately prove the fantasy one. Hannah never asks about the red rubber band on his wrist, which struck me as odd - wives notice such things.
I think this is a series which could have become like "Lost," after a couple seasons, with a cult of followers deconstructing and analyzing clues as the plots grew in the complexity of their backstory and with the introduction of mysterious new characters. Or Mike could have kept discovering new levels of his subconscious, a la "Inception," but with the time to make more sense of it all. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:36 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Has anyone tried (assuming it's available from your cable system) the new channel, Cozi? It runs old TV shows, and I've been checking out "Quantum Leap" again after all these years. And today I turned it on at noon and there were Bret and Bart Maverick! I know there must be a website, but so far it's fun just to check it out once in a while and see what's playing. (The other night I found "The Avengers," but it was an episode with Tara, not Mrs. Peel, so I didn't stick with it.) |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:53 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Another TV temptation started tonight--"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell," on BBC America. Set in London and York around 1800, it's beautifully filmed and the characters are intriguing, but I'm going to have to get out the book (one of many I never got around to reading) because some of the dialogue is hard to follow. (Ah, remember when British actors all talked with crisp clarity?) Actually, it's not so bad except when the Street Magician is reeling off his warnings, which get pretty garbled. But his Tarot trick is as awesome as Norell's lively demonstration in York Minster. |
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