One big error, I think, in the Severance recap, which I otherwise enjoyed: Drummond isn't keeping tabs on Burt. Drummond knew that Irving was having dinner with Burt, broke into Irving's apartment, and found all of Irving's files (and map) on Lumon and severed employees that we last saw in the Season 1 finale. Burt is clearly still heavily involved in the company and probably invited Irving over so Drummond would have a chance to snoop.
Yeah, big swing and a miss by me on that one. But I also haven't rewatched the first season, and thus wasn't conditioned to recognize that this was Irving's apartment, his secret notes, etc.
I think there is a little something more going on with the Gretchen/Dylan scenario. I think Gretchen is actually seeing a difference between innie and outtie Dylan and is actually becoming more attracted to one Dylan because he seems more responsible and proud of achievement. Outtie Dylan is focused on getting a car they can not afford and she is talking to him about being responsible.
I don’t think Helly and Mark being intimate was “revenge sex” against Helena. It seemed more an attempt on Helly’s part to take back some control herself and not let Helena have something that she wanted. I think she also sees that Mark is mad because Helena manipulated him to believe that Helly wanted the same thing and that she tricked him the entire season to believe they were connecting.
A point that I think is kind of important with respect to the Severance recap: Burt and Fields say they are Lutheran. Burt says it was Jesus who brought him to Lumon (“Jesus Christ?” “That’s the one!”). Knowing that Christianity exists in the show seems relevant given the cult of Kier and other disorienting elements of reality.
As you mentioned on Bluesky, it’s understandable that Lorne leaned more on 21st century cast members to avoid repetitiveness of previous specials.
At the same time, the ‘86-‘90 cast seem always to get the short end of the stick on the anniversary specials. Aside from Lovitz’s cameos & Myers’ appearances, the others still alive from that era (Nealon, Dunn, Miller, V.Jackson) don’t get a moment to shine on them. Maybe if Carvey wasn’t sick there would’ve been bigger representation this time.
Miller seems to have spiritually detached from the show; IIRC, he and Eddie were the only two cast alums who didn't agree to be interviewed for the Shales/Miller oral history. The others were more utility players in that era, though all had their moments. But the stars of that group were Carvey (who, as you note, was sick and couldn't come), Lovitz and Myers (both of whom appeared), and Hartman and Hooks, who are no longer with us. I'm sure Carvey would have gotten a moment if he was there, given how much the show used him in the fall.
To me, the disappointment was Jane Curtin, who at the 40th got to co-anchor Weekend Update, and who is still a working, funny actress. (She's in the next Shonda Rhimes Netflix show.) I get why nobody might want to work with Chevy, but unless Curtin just didn't want to do something, why not put her in the mix somewhere? Even just having Chad hang around both Laraine and her?
Agreed. Curtin should’ve been given a bigger role somewhere. Even Chevy got highlighted by Murray. The Q&A with the audience was a missed opportunity to use them & also utility cast members from different eras rather than celebrities (Hamm & Teller).
I think that’s why I prefer SNL40 b/c Lorne did a better job mixing the different cast generations in the sketches (The Californians, Weekend Update, the music medley, even the awkward tributes to Murphy/Chevy) last time.
Thank you, Alan, for explicitly noting that the sex between Helena and Mark was an assault, both here and in last week's Severance review. A distressing number of people aren't framing it as such when it is all very nonconsensual! Appreciate the clarity.
Because Helena and Helly are sort of the same person, it's not an exact one-to-one comparison with what Robert Carradine's character does near the end of Revenge of the Nerds — which was presented at the time as a triumph, but is clearly assault — but it's so close that it was all I could think of after "Woe's Hollow" ended.
The closest analogue I can think of is identical twins. If one twin pretended to be another in order to have sex with someone, that's very clearly rape!
What's concerning is the show hasn't allowed Mark to talk about it as a rape, which makes me wonder if they even realize that's what it was for him. The fact that they allowed that for Helly, but not Mark, makes me think there's a real blind spot happening among these male producers. Which is deeply problematic.
If they want that to be the story, they need to put it in the show. Have Helly throw it back at Mark: "Why aren't you upset? They violated you, too." Instead they let Helly voice it on her own behalf and from Mark we got silence. That is a *choice*. And I think it's an irresponsible one.
I made it about 3 minutes into White Lotus when Parker Posey, who I ordinarily like, came onscreen lavishly hating her character - all but holding a sign above her head saying "Aren't I Just Awful???" and I just couldn't hang. All the dramatic integrity of a character in a one-off SNL sketch. "Don't you just hate this kind of person?"
Maybe she thought she was going deliciously big, ala Jennifer Coolidge, but it didn't work at all, and Mike White should have intervened.
I have enormous respect for White's talent, but there's something deeply broken about him which reflects in everything he does these days. I felt a similar disappointment curve with Harold Ramis (both, obviously, would have cried all the way to the bank at the criticism....and perhaps the bank aspect is part of the problem).
Alan, did you enjoy Bookie? I really liked the first two seasons and was sad to see Max canceled it. First, Max dumped Somebody Somewhere - and now this? Ugh.
My simple explanation of Reacher: Batman minus capes. If people can buy the billionaire genius martial artist donning a costume, they should be able to buy Reacher
Having The Pitt, Severance, and The White Lotus on all at the same time just feels so good. They’re all such different shows with different vibes, which makes them perfectly complimentary in my head.
Ok, your Severance recap threw water on a pretty crazy theory I thought up regarding Milchick. I couldn't understand why he kept saying "grow up," etc. I never connected it back to him telling Ms. Huang to get rid of her "childish follies" and trying to say it more succinctly/plainly.
I started to think: is this a child in a man's body? He's telling himself to grow up because that's what Lumon has forced him to do - but he actually has the development of a teenager, just in a man's body. Anyway, your analysis is a lot more plausible lol
Great episode of The Pitt last night but I kinda doubt the Crichton estate can win this lawsuit, the Pitt is about as similar to ER as 24 was to Homeland (and that's being generous considering the narrative overlaps between 24 and Homeland were stronger than those between ER and The Pitt). They'll just settle anyway.
The allegation is specifically that Wells pitched *this* format to the estate, only Wyle would have been playing Carter, the hospital would have been County General, and Shawn Hatosy's character would have been another ER alum (Scott Grimes, maybe?). Again, I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know if that — assuming it's provable — is enough by itself. But it doesn't sound as if Wells proposed doing a traditional ER revival, then shifted to this format once they couldn't agree on numbers with the estate.
That would complicate it if true but I'm not sure I'd see the point of that either. ER was far more of a melodrama than The Pitt is, this format doesn't really lend itself to office romances and seeing these characters outside of the hospital the way ER did. It doesn't really matter in the context of the lawsuit but I'm not sure ER fans would want that.
As a Bergen County native seeing those zip codes in Severance was really trippy, so thanks for making it clear in your review that I wasn’t seeing auras or hallucinations.
One big error, I think, in the Severance recap, which I otherwise enjoyed: Drummond isn't keeping tabs on Burt. Drummond knew that Irving was having dinner with Burt, broke into Irving's apartment, and found all of Irving's files (and map) on Lumon and severed employees that we last saw in the Season 1 finale. Burt is clearly still heavily involved in the company and probably invited Irving over so Drummond would have a chance to snoop.
Yeah, big swing and a miss by me on that one. But I also haven't rewatched the first season, and thus wasn't conditioned to recognize that this was Irving's apartment, his secret notes, etc.
But Irving was only radicalized because Lumen threw obstructions between him and Burt. If not for Burt, Irving would have remained a true believer.
Perhaps this is a miscalculation/plot hole by the writers rather than the Lumen powers that be (Lumenaries?).
I think there is a little something more going on with the Gretchen/Dylan scenario. I think Gretchen is actually seeing a difference between innie and outtie Dylan and is actually becoming more attracted to one Dylan because he seems more responsible and proud of achievement. Outtie Dylan is focused on getting a car they can not afford and she is talking to him about being responsible.
I don’t think Helly and Mark being intimate was “revenge sex” against Helena. It seemed more an attempt on Helly’s part to take back some control herself and not let Helena have something that she wanted. I think she also sees that Mark is mad because Helena manipulated him to believe that Helly wanted the same thing and that she tricked him the entire season to believe they were connecting.
A point that I think is kind of important with respect to the Severance recap: Burt and Fields say they are Lutheran. Burt says it was Jesus who brought him to Lumon (“Jesus Christ?” “That’s the one!”). Knowing that Christianity exists in the show seems relevant given the cult of Kier and other disorienting elements of reality.
As you mentioned on Bluesky, it’s understandable that Lorne leaned more on 21st century cast members to avoid repetitiveness of previous specials.
At the same time, the ‘86-‘90 cast seem always to get the short end of the stick on the anniversary specials. Aside from Lovitz’s cameos & Myers’ appearances, the others still alive from that era (Nealon, Dunn, Miller, V.Jackson) don’t get a moment to shine on them. Maybe if Carvey wasn’t sick there would’ve been bigger representation this time.
Miller seems to have spiritually detached from the show; IIRC, he and Eddie were the only two cast alums who didn't agree to be interviewed for the Shales/Miller oral history. The others were more utility players in that era, though all had their moments. But the stars of that group were Carvey (who, as you note, was sick and couldn't come), Lovitz and Myers (both of whom appeared), and Hartman and Hooks, who are no longer with us. I'm sure Carvey would have gotten a moment if he was there, given how much the show used him in the fall.
To me, the disappointment was Jane Curtin, who at the 40th got to co-anchor Weekend Update, and who is still a working, funny actress. (She's in the next Shonda Rhimes Netflix show.) I get why nobody might want to work with Chevy, but unless Curtin just didn't want to do something, why not put her in the mix somewhere? Even just having Chad hang around both Laraine and her?
Maybe Lorne got re-mad about the old Belushi fight he had with Jane…
Agreed. Curtin should’ve been given a bigger role somewhere. Even Chevy got highlighted by Murray. The Q&A with the audience was a missed opportunity to use them & also utility cast members from different eras rather than celebrities (Hamm & Teller).
I think that’s why I prefer SNL40 b/c Lorne did a better job mixing the different cast generations in the sketches (The Californians, Weekend Update, the music medley, even the awkward tributes to Murphy/Chevy) last time.
Thank you, Alan, for explicitly noting that the sex between Helena and Mark was an assault, both here and in last week's Severance review. A distressing number of people aren't framing it as such when it is all very nonconsensual! Appreciate the clarity.
Because Helena and Helly are sort of the same person, it's not an exact one-to-one comparison with what Robert Carradine's character does near the end of Revenge of the Nerds — which was presented at the time as a triumph, but is clearly assault — but it's so close that it was all I could think of after "Woe's Hollow" ended.
The closest analogue I can think of is identical twins. If one twin pretended to be another in order to have sex with someone, that's very clearly rape!
What's concerning is the show hasn't allowed Mark to talk about it as a rape, which makes me wonder if they even realize that's what it was for him. The fact that they allowed that for Helly, but not Mark, makes me think there's a real blind spot happening among these male producers. Which is deeply problematic.
perhaps if his brain wasn't getting fried by reintegration he might understand it to have been an assault!
If they want that to be the story, they need to put it in the show. Have Helly throw it back at Mark: "Why aren't you upset? They violated you, too." Instead they let Helly voice it on her own behalf and from Mark we got silence. That is a *choice*. And I think it's an irresponsible one.
I made it about 3 minutes into White Lotus when Parker Posey, who I ordinarily like, came onscreen lavishly hating her character - all but holding a sign above her head saying "Aren't I Just Awful???" and I just couldn't hang. All the dramatic integrity of a character in a one-off SNL sketch. "Don't you just hate this kind of person?"
Maybe she thought she was going deliciously big, ala Jennifer Coolidge, but it didn't work at all, and Mike White should have intervened.
I have enormous respect for White's talent, but there's something deeply broken about him which reflects in everything he does these days. I felt a similar disappointment curve with Harold Ramis (both, obviously, would have cried all the way to the bank at the criticism....and perhaps the bank aspect is part of the problem).
Oh it works perfectly for me. I think Parker Posey was BORN to be in a Mike White show.
Younger Parker Posey was born to be in a younger Mike White show.
And now it appears, alas, that recent Parker Posey was born to be in a recent Mike White show.
So we don’t disagree.
Coolidge played a broad person honestly and with love. It’s not the same thing as a broad portrayal. Category error on Posey and White’s end.
Alan, did you enjoy Bookie? I really liked the first two seasons and was sad to see Max canceled it. First, Max dumped Somebody Somewhere - and now this? Ugh.
I watched a couple of episodes. Didn’t really click for me, I’m afraid.
My simple explanation of Reacher: Batman minus capes. If people can buy the billionaire genius martial artist donning a costume, they should be able to buy Reacher
Having The Pitt, Severance, and The White Lotus on all at the same time just feels so good. They’re all such different shows with different vibes, which makes them perfectly complimentary in my head.
Ok, your Severance recap threw water on a pretty crazy theory I thought up regarding Milchick. I couldn't understand why he kept saying "grow up," etc. I never connected it back to him telling Ms. Huang to get rid of her "childish follies" and trying to say it more succinctly/plainly.
I started to think: is this a child in a man's body? He's telling himself to grow up because that's what Lumon has forced him to do - but he actually has the development of a teenager, just in a man's body. Anyway, your analysis is a lot more plausible lol
Great episode of The Pitt last night but I kinda doubt the Crichton estate can win this lawsuit, the Pitt is about as similar to ER as 24 was to Homeland (and that's being generous considering the narrative overlaps between 24 and Homeland were stronger than those between ER and The Pitt). They'll just settle anyway.
The allegation is specifically that Wells pitched *this* format to the estate, only Wyle would have been playing Carter, the hospital would have been County General, and Shawn Hatosy's character would have been another ER alum (Scott Grimes, maybe?). Again, I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know if that — assuming it's provable — is enough by itself. But it doesn't sound as if Wells proposed doing a traditional ER revival, then shifted to this format once they couldn't agree on numbers with the estate.
That would complicate it if true but I'm not sure I'd see the point of that either. ER was far more of a melodrama than The Pitt is, this format doesn't really lend itself to office romances and seeing these characters outside of the hospital the way ER did. It doesn't really matter in the context of the lawsuit but I'm not sure ER fans would want that.
As a Bergen County native seeing those zip codes in Severance was really trippy, so thanks for making it clear in your review that I wasn’t seeing auras or hallucinations.
Loving The Pitt and other than some of the cases, don’t find it particularly similar to ER or Robby much like John.