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<  Television  ~  It's Not TV -- It's HBO!

billyweeds
Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 8:24 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
Sarah Silverman's new HBO special We Are Miracles finds her in fine form for those who are drawn to her very edgy style of humor. I am a huge fan and practically fell off the couch from laughter.

Meanwhile HBO has a new six-episode comedy series called Getting On starring Laurie Metcalf, based on a British series and set in a female geriatric ward. Obviously the humor here is also dark and edgy, and also hilarious.
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bartist
Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:36 am Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
Fans of "Homeland" will want to check out last night's spoof on "The Simpsons." Kristen Wiig does a pretty convincing "Carrie Mathison" voiceover.

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billyweeds
Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 1:50 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
Nicholas Brody remains my hero and my power of example. (For those in the dark, that's the character played by Damian Lewis on Homeland.) A SPOILER alert and too much exposition would be necessary to explain why, but I salute you, sir!!! (And that "sir" extends to Lewis as well as Brody. What Brody is to heroism Lewis is to acting.)
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bartist
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 12:09 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
A man of character. Had I seen S. 2 a bit earlier, I would be tempted to try a local trial offer on cable, but it looks like S.3 winds up in less than 2 weeks, so I will wait for the dvds.


I like the example Brody sets of what to do when you are wearing a bomb vest and your daughter calls to ask when you are coming home. I'm never quite sure how to answer that, so I was grateful for a few pointers.

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billyweeds
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:25 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
bartist wrote:
A man of character. Had I seen S. 2 a bit earlier, I would be tempted to try a local trial offer on cable, but it looks like S.3 winds up in less than 2 weeks, so I will wait for the dvds.


I like the example Brody sets of what to do when you are wearing a bomb vest and your daughter calls to ask when you are coming home. I'm never quite sure how to answer that, so I was grateful for a few pointers.


And you, sir, are one of my "dry humor" gurus. LOL.
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bartist
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 1:40 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
Glad the dry worked for you. I might starting adding another "u" to "humour," to up the dryness even more.

Lewis has a nervous magnetic energy that is really something to watch. I was pretty much unware of him until this series.

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billyweeds
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 12:22 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
bartist wrote:
Glad the dry worked for you. I might starting adding another "u" to "humour," to up the dryness even more.

Lewis has a nervous magnetic energy that is really something to watch. I was pretty much unware of him until this series.


You really have to watch Keane, a disturbing, riveting movie that is sometimes hard to watch but in which Damian Lewis gives a performance that ranks with the finest ever seen on a screen.
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daffy
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 12:40 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 1939 Location: Wall Street
billyweeds wrote:
Nicholas Brody remains my hero and my power of example. (For those in the dark, that's the character played by Damian Lewis on Homeland.) A SPOILER alert and too much exposition would be necessary to explain why, but I salute you, sir!!! (And that "sir" extends to Lewis as well as Brody. What Brody is to heroism Lewis is to acting.)

Homeland SPOILERS: A hero?!?! No. Think about it: Brody plotted a mass murder, whacked his fellow soldier and friend, and assassinated a sitting Vice President of the United States, all while dragging his wife and children through hell. No doubt he's a flawed and complicated man who was ruined by a horrible situation, but a hero? I understand your urge to sympathize with him (which I feel is a huge tribute to Damien Lewis and the rest of the cast, writers, and directors) but think about it for a bit. Brody's actions were heinous. END SPOILER

I agree with you 100% about Damien Lewis, however. The guy is amazing. For those who aren't familiar with his work, check out the HBO World War II mini-series Band Of Brothers. He plays the lead and he's terrific (It's hard to believe he's actually British).

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billyweeds
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:44 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
His name is spelled "Damian," but otherwise I agree with you to the letter, but you knew that. Haven't seen Band of Brothers, but his performance in the independent movie Keane is one of the best screen performances I've ever seen. It streams on Netflix and there is no excuse on God's green earth for missing it.
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bartist
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 1:31 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
Claire Danes has a funny interview this week in the NYT sunday zine. Apparently, she spoilers "Homeland" for Hugh when she gets home and wants to talk about her day on the set. Also describes an unfruitful meeting of "Homeland" cast with the actual CIA.

Salvaged "Keane" from a liquidating Bbuster store; watching soon.

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bartist
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:55 am Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
billyweeds wrote:
The good news about Enlightened is that it gets better and better as the characters become more shaded and layered. Laura Dern is amazing in the leading role of a very sweet but incredibly annoying woman who is trying to find her way in a world that seems insensitive. Hard to describe, but Dern makes it easy to understand. Mike White and Dern wrote the series and it's brilliant.
(posted Nov. 10, 2011)

I'm four eps into season one, and liking it so far. I had feared it might be the yin to the yang of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but it has more dramatic range and depth, so much so that I can't really think of it as a comedy, per se. There are terrific comedic moments, as in one episode where Dern escapes possible sacking by letting her boss think that she might be homeless. But it doesn't really follow a Larry David sort of playbook - in another storyline, she finds her ex-husband's stash of pills, while they are on a camping trip, and tosses them in the river. I thought at first this might be setup for a David-ish joke, where perhaps the pills turn out to be a prescription for some serious ailment, but it plays straight, as part of the couple's drama rollercoaster. The half-hour format can fool you, if you see that format as only roomy enough for comedy.

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knox
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 18 Mar 2010 Posts: 1245 Location: St. Louis
Dern has practically made a career doing sweet-but-imbalanced. I like Mike White's stuff generally, but I just couldn't stick with Enlightened. Maybe a little TOO real, in terms of office life.
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billyweeds
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:01 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
knox wrote:
Dern has practically made a career doing sweet-but-imbalanced. I like Mike White's stuff generally, but I just couldn't stick with Enlightened. Maybe a little TOO real, in terms of office life.


Enlightened was one of the best comedies in cable history IMO. And yet I'm sort of glad it was canceled. It was perfect the way it was.
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bartist
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:24 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 6941 Location: Black Hills
knox wrote:
Dern has practically made a career doing sweet-but-imbalanced. I like Mike White's stuff generally, but I just couldn't stick with Enlightened. Maybe a little TOO real, in terms of office life.


Tend to agree on the "too real" of the office life, having finished season one. I like the subversive quality....you realize at some point that Amy is only "crazy" in an environment where lies, obfuscation, and deception are the norm, and where, as the Japanese saying goes, the nail that sticks up is the one that gets the hammer. Amy is honest, idealistic, and has a good heart - i.e. a terrible fit with Abaddon, Inc. I'm not sure I can watch another season, but I certainly part with the first season hoping that she manages to poke a big stick in the hornet's nest.

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knox
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 10:10 am Reply with quote
Joined: 18 Mar 2010 Posts: 1245 Location: St. Louis
Will say the company name, Abaddon, was brilliantly chosen. Abaddon appears in the Book of Revelation as an angel of destruction, and is also identified as a king of the locusts. And Abaddon was the name of a section of Hell in Hebrew theology.
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