One of the things I loved the most about A Man on the Inside is that it's such a great showcase for older actors. We know good roles for older actors are not that easy to come by and basically having 3/4 of the ensemble being in that age range makes me super happy.
I haven't read your RS piece on A Man on the Inside, but I was struck by a few things when I watched the show last night/this morning.
First was the speed and ease with which Schur and co. create a breadth and depth of emotion. As warm and enjoyable as his shows are, the first season of The Good Place, for example, is not nearly as emotionally rich as the the following seasons. A Man on the Inside had me tearing up like 3 or 4 episodes in.
Second was Stephen McKinley Henderson as Calbert. What could have been a kind of sidekicky / neighbor role with not a lot of depth ended up being a real, grounded character thanks to his performance. If there's any justice, both he and McGinley will be nominated for Supporting Actor in a Comedy at the next Emmys.
Love 'Man on the Inside' Two comments: (1) Wow, Mike Schur really going for the name Hall of Fame: Autumnal-Stojakovic, Chagughlaight-Accourse, Nieuwendyk, Cubbler, Viezfivowun, with I'm sure more to come. (2) When Ted Danson talks to his daughter and insists "Clubs are cool!", it reminded me of Matt Smith's "Bow ties are cool. And then I decided that we really need to lobby for a Mike Schur penned Doctor Who episode (assuming they don't kill it off too soon). After all, Doctor Who is cool." Right?
My wife and I watched the first episode of A Man on the Inside last night and were in stitches during his training montage. "I'm in a peach club" hahahaha
Do you watch a full Bond movie in a single treadmill session, or split it over a few of them?
TND has Michelle Yeoh, which in and of itself elevates the film. Whenever I finish with this, I may have to do a ranking of the Action Bond Girls. Question is whether we include villainous ones like Famke Janssen, or borderline cases like Diana Rigg, who can defend herself but isn't treated as a comrade in arms the way Yeoh and Lowell are.
Honor Blackman has to be top of that list. Successful businesswoman, bests Bond in a fight, is a double agent, experienced pilot, has a name I don't feel comfortable saying in front of my daughter. What more can you ask for in an Action Bond Woman?
Alan, hi. Do you have any comment on the proposed return of “Friday Night Lights?” Due to the volume of possible reboots now, I understand if it is no longer feasible to comment on anyone in particular. Thanks
One possible show to replace ER once done with Bond: Moonlighting. I started watching it while I exercise and the energy that Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd bring pairs nicely.
The Simpsons has been consistently funnier than most comedies, and I laugh out loud at least once an episode. That said, as someone who has watched it from day one, if any of the lead voices go it’s time to end it. It’s been a good run.
Disagree with the Hollywood Reporter re Interior Chinatown. Despite feeling very wary, having loved the book so much, I find it a powerful commentary on the role of Asian Americans in entertainment (and in American society as well). The notion that Fresh off the Boat or Crazy Rich Asians has somehow changed the landscape feels pretty tone-deaf, honestly. Charles Yu's book was about how Asian Americans don't fit in "American" stories, despite having lived here for centuries and when you review the tv and movie landscape of standard American fare, his argument holds up. I love the choice of Jimmy Yang as an Asian American everyman and am reminded of all the ways the book left a deep imprint on me.
I’ve been wondering too about what will happen once of the main cast members leaves The Simpsons. I think it’d be odd to continue although FOX threatened to recast in the past when negotiations dragged out
I think there’s some precedent in recasting for secondary characters when Hank Azaria let go some of his roles a few years ago (albeit under different circumstances).
Yeah, if Shearer had refused to re-up during one of his more contentious negotiations a ways back, they almost certainly would have hired someone else to play Burns, Skinner, et al. And that would have made it easier down the road if, say, Kavner decided to retire while the show was still continuing. Now, though, we are SO deep into the run that I think it will feel more seismic if/when it happens. Or maybe it won't, because fewer people are paying attention?
You’re right any recasting will receive much less attention now than if it happened 20 or even 10 years ago. It’s definitely too late in the run.
It’s why I wish the show would end, even it’s been better lately. Such an important show should not be continue at all costs. (I wish they had a break like King of the Hill as then it’d be two distinct iterations.)
I wonder if a double showing of The Spy Who Loved Me and No Time to Die would work, you get the effortlessly cool panache right next to one of the series’ darkest stories right there
Interesting. I'm saving the former for near the end of this, just because it's one of the ones I've seen most often. (One of my earliest movie theater memories is him skiing off the cliff and the Union Jack parachute opening.) Trying to frontload the ones I don't know as well. And, at some point, I suppose I'll have to finally watch Spectre, which is the only one I've never seen (other than the cold open)
Would be all in on a Shrinking spinoff buddy comedy starring Ted McGinley and Harrison Ford. A modern-day Odd Couple!
Certainly the season 3 to-do list should include some kind of Derek/Paul story. They barely interact.
One of the things I loved the most about A Man on the Inside is that it's such a great showcase for older actors. We know good roles for older actors are not that easy to come by and basically having 3/4 of the ensemble being in that age range makes me super happy.
I haven't read your RS piece on A Man on the Inside, but I was struck by a few things when I watched the show last night/this morning.
First was the speed and ease with which Schur and co. create a breadth and depth of emotion. As warm and enjoyable as his shows are, the first season of The Good Place, for example, is not nearly as emotionally rich as the the following seasons. A Man on the Inside had me tearing up like 3 or 4 episodes in.
Second was Stephen McKinley Henderson as Calbert. What could have been a kind of sidekicky / neighbor role with not a lot of depth ended up being a real, grounded character thanks to his performance. If there's any justice, both he and McGinley will be nominated for Supporting Actor in a Comedy at the next Emmys.
Love 'Man on the Inside' Two comments: (1) Wow, Mike Schur really going for the name Hall of Fame: Autumnal-Stojakovic, Chagughlaight-Accourse, Nieuwendyk, Cubbler, Viezfivowun, with I'm sure more to come. (2) When Ted Danson talks to his daughter and insists "Clubs are cool!", it reminded me of Matt Smith's "Bow ties are cool. And then I decided that we really need to lobby for a Mike Schur penned Doctor Who episode (assuming they don't kill it off too soon). After all, Doctor Who is cool." Right?
My wife and I watched the first episode of A Man on the Inside last night and were in stitches during his training montage. "I'm in a peach club" hahahaha
Do you watch a full Bond movie in a single treadmill session, or split it over a few of them?
Oh, I'm doing it in roughly 30-40 minute segments. It's unfortunately how I have to consume most movies these days.
Co-sign on Ted McGinley -- especially in that last episode of Shrinking, as good a "hang out" show as I can recall.
Tomorrow Never Dies is so much fun. Underrated still, I feel.
The World is Not Enough? Eh, might have to let the happy nostalgia of being out with your future wife carry you through that one...
TND has Michelle Yeoh, which in and of itself elevates the film. Whenever I finish with this, I may have to do a ranking of the Action Bond Girls. Question is whether we include villainous ones like Famke Janssen, or borderline cases like Diana Rigg, who can defend herself but isn't treated as a comrade in arms the way Yeoh and Lowell are.
Honor Blackman has to be top of that list. Successful businesswoman, bests Bond in a fight, is a double agent, experienced pilot, has a name I don't feel comfortable saying in front of my daughter. What more can you ask for in an Action Bond Woman?
Yeoh is a big plus, for sure. Pryce is also having the most fun possible.
The first half of The World is Not Enough is pretty good but then completely collapses in the second half.
Plus, Tomorrow Never Dies has my favorite Bond theme (kd lang, consigned to the end credits despite having a voice made for Bond themes).
Alan, hi. Do you have any comment on the proposed return of “Friday Night Lights?” Due to the volume of possible reboots now, I understand if it is no longer feasible to comment on anyone in particular. Thanks
One possible show to replace ER once done with Bond: Moonlighting. I started watching it while I exercise and the energy that Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd bring pairs nicely.
Congrats on the nepo-Sepinwall name check in the Simpsons.Does it get any better?
Nothing like writng about the Simpsons before...I 'm guessing you'll have more on Wednesday.
The Simpsons has been consistently funnier than most comedies, and I laugh out loud at least once an episode. That said, as someone who has watched it from day one, if any of the lead voices go it’s time to end it. It’s been a good run.
Disagree with the Hollywood Reporter re Interior Chinatown. Despite feeling very wary, having loved the book so much, I find it a powerful commentary on the role of Asian Americans in entertainment (and in American society as well). The notion that Fresh off the Boat or Crazy Rich Asians has somehow changed the landscape feels pretty tone-deaf, honestly. Charles Yu's book was about how Asian Americans don't fit in "American" stories, despite having lived here for centuries and when you review the tv and movie landscape of standard American fare, his argument holds up. I love the choice of Jimmy Yang as an Asian American everyman and am reminded of all the ways the book left a deep imprint on me.
I’ve been wondering too about what will happen once of the main cast members leaves The Simpsons. I think it’d be odd to continue although FOX threatened to recast in the past when negotiations dragged out
I think there’s some precedent in recasting for secondary characters when Hank Azaria let go some of his roles a few years ago (albeit under different circumstances).
Yeah, if Shearer had refused to re-up during one of his more contentious negotiations a ways back, they almost certainly would have hired someone else to play Burns, Skinner, et al. And that would have made it easier down the road if, say, Kavner decided to retire while the show was still continuing. Now, though, we are SO deep into the run that I think it will feel more seismic if/when it happens. Or maybe it won't, because fewer people are paying attention?
You’re right any recasting will receive much less attention now than if it happened 20 or even 10 years ago. It’s definitely too late in the run.
It’s why I wish the show would end, even it’s been better lately. Such an important show should not be continue at all costs. (I wish they had a break like King of the Hill as then it’d be two distinct iterations.)
I wonder if a double showing of The Spy Who Loved Me and No Time to Die would work, you get the effortlessly cool panache right next to one of the series’ darkest stories right there
Interesting. I'm saving the former for near the end of this, just because it's one of the ones I've seen most often. (One of my earliest movie theater memories is him skiing off the cliff and the Union Jack parachute opening.) Trying to frontload the ones I don't know as well. And, at some point, I suppose I'll have to finally watch Spectre, which is the only one I've never seen (other than the cold open)