That Reservation Dogs episode isn't just an all-timer, it would make a good proselytizing episode, which is the one you tell your skeptical friend/relative to watch when you're really trying to get them to watch the whole series. The proselytizing episode is rarely the pilot (which can be awkward or dissimilar to the later vibe of the series); you choose one that's largely self-contained, doesn't require knowledge of a long backstory, may involve a guest star your skeptic really likes, may involve a story that you think will resonate with them. Elora's Dad meets those criteria AND you get to tell your skeptic that the woman playing Elora wrote the script.
I completely agree about Otis and Sex Education; I've set aside this weekend to watch Season 4 but I'll definitely be focusing more on my knitting during Otis's scenes -- unless they have him become noticeably less of a self-centered jackass very quickly. But that supporting cast is so good! I'm not surprised that many of them are successful in a wide variety of projects, and I can't wait to see Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor.
I like so many of the Sex Ed actors, but Gatwa's star burns so bright on it that it only casts a harsher light on how annoying Otis is compared to his best friend.
And interesting point on "Elora's Dad" as a gateway episode. I might want one with some more explicitly Indigenous content — maybe "Come and Get Your Love," or "Mabel" — simply because the rest of the series is so much more Native-specific than "Elora's Dad," and you want to show newbies something representative of what they'll see with everything else.
AND if Eric wasn't already the best character on the show, Otis's other scenes are with his cool AF mom or Maeve - his light simply has to dim alongside all of them lol
On your point about NYPD Blue glorifying police brutality at times it reminds me of a point I truly believe and said alot in the wake of George Floyd, if the liberals in Hollywood truly want to make a difference, rather than marching for BLM or donating money or tweeting, the biggest thing they could do to bring real change would be to make Internal Affairs Depts the hero’s of every cop show
Use the cultural and soft power of mass entertainment to make its clear the cop who reports his partner for misconduct is the hero not a rat, a few years of that across the board in movies and TV will make a real difference in how Americans view such things
This is a really good point. Even on shows that present a pretty sanitized view of the police, people from Internal Affairs usually portrayed as shifty manipulative sleazebags.
Yep, even Brooklyn Nine-Nine which admittedly is a parody of cop shows but still, it’s made by ppl with impeccable Liberal credentials yet IA are the bad guys, as they’ve been since Dirty Harry
It might sound stupid but I really believe it, if Hollywood made IA the heroes and cops who report their partners for misconduct the ppl e we root for it would do more to change the culture of policing and the public’s attitude to these issues than a billion dollars of donations to left wing activist groups
Yeah, I’m an enormous fan of unnecessarily in-depth and usually goofy mythologies/lores, I LOVE how wacky the John Wick world has become, and I’m not getting anywhere near The Continental because Mel Gibson.
Surprised you didn’t bring up Sylvia in your NYPD wrap-up. I felt like she was such an important part of Andy’s growth and her death was so damn sad... “you more so.” 😭
Her death was almost comical, I unfortunately felt. They had just piled so much tragedy into Andy, and this was beyond. Plus, the abrupt way she said, “Take care of the baby” was practically Poochie announcing that he had to go back to his home planet.
Great character. Great performance. But they did both her and Andy dirty in the way she left.
Sylvia is the one character that seemed to suffer the most by Bocho/Milch's stance of not retreading HSB in any way (specifically Joyce). It's understandable that Sharon was disappointed with the role after S2.
Ah, Alan, I loved your NYPD Blue recaps so much! I adored that show and didn't really know anyone else who shared my passion for it here in Australia. We used to get the episodes weeks or months after they aired in the USA. Finding your recaps was like finding a friend who got why I was a fan of the show. I've been following your writing ever since. Thank you!
I'm not too disappointed it got canned, but I did enjoy Winning Time. But how in the heck did they not show the evolution of Show Time, the Magic-Worthy-Cooper fast break machine? Heck, it even got a shout out in Die Hard.
Hey Alan, I have a couple curiosities regarding NYPD Blue:
1. What is your season rankings?
2. I understand tv was different back then, but do you know why the show never really attempted (non-personal) serialized-arcs after the Marino storyline was wrapped-up? [Confusing as Bochco and Milch had great success with long-arcs on Hill Street Blues.]
1. Season 1 is best, followed by 3, 2, 4 or 5 in whatever order, then 6, then 7, and then the Gosselaar years in whatever order you want. (I thought he was good, but it was such a different show by that point that it really doesn't matter.)
2. Bochco stepped back around that point, and he was always the half of that partnership who was good at long-term narrative, where Milch's writing is always in the moment. I just don't think Milch had the focus, or interest, needed to sustain ongoing arcs. The few times he tried, they ended with a whimper. Deadwood was more serialized, but even there, a lot of the bigger ideas never went anywhere.
It makes sense now that why certain arcs ended so disappointedly (eg. Diane’s undercover arc ending with Meloni’s Jimmy being killed offscreen in S4) whereas the personal subplots were better handled (eg. Andy’s prostate cancer in S5, Bobby’s heart condition in S6).
Your answer also helps provide clarity about the last two seasons of HSB when Milch was in charge (after Bochco was fired) - that it was likely other long time writers of the show aided to sustain the focus of the arcs.
I’d be curious to know if Jacobs already had Hawke attached to this role when she wrote the episode because of course you’re going to write a dual walk-and-talk oner shot with the king of walk-and-talk oners. Great episode, perfect casting, how will it end...
Rez Dogs is just wow. So good. The way Hawke and Jacobs both played those scenes with so much nuance and so much to interpret. What are they thinking and feeling? And I love the way they wrote his character, as well.
When NYPD Blue started, I was 16 in the UK but I already knew that it was edgy for a Network TV show and it was created by the guy who wrote Hill Street Blues. For the first 5 years it was a much watch show and even after that it still had the ability to hit home.
You wrote a great tribute to NYPD Blue, which along with ER, was my fave drama during my college years. I tried to never miss an episode - as there was no DVR technology back then!
I watched the Rez Dogs ep last night and wow was Ethan Hawke a perfect casting choice. Like, of course he's her dad. Devery Jacobs' put in one of the best performances we've seen in this show - so protective/guarded at first and then slowly letting her guard down as Hawke wins her over. I'm really happy Elora gets this ending - she really needs some family in her life.
As for Otis and Sex Education, I've never pinpointed how annoying Otis is, but you're right. I mean, I feel for him tho - cuz look who his closest people are. When your mom, your bestie and the girl you're in love with are so fucking cool, it's kind of hard not to be outshined loll.
The drawing out of him and Maeve getting together has definitely felt manufactured and frustrating. Still that show is a very particular kind of feel-good gem that doesn't make you feel good by pretending everything is great/perfect or ignoring big issues - I just think at its core it loves all its characters and is kind to them. It holds a special place in my heart.
Ethan Hawke should parachute into more shows more often, he really is that good at being instantly watchable. That character he brings to life is very nearly a carbon copy of one of my family members, his nuanced performance really gets all the complicated emotions, character flaws, and earnest self-awareness that make that guy go.
To me the quintessential peach show is New Girl, where everyone on the show is so funny...except Jess, who's not exactly terrible but obviously the weak link. It's striking to me how seamlessly she lifts out in those episodes that Zooey Deschanel missed when she was pregnant.
I was going to ask Alan about the formulaic nature of NYPD Blue & what he’d think of it today but he already mentioned in the post he’d like to see more of that format in current shows.
Nonetheless, it’s still interesting to read his old reviews where frustration is expressed at times with the standalone format as there’d be little/none carryover, even after a prominent episode. It’s also how I’ve been feeling at certain points going through the series for the first time but it helps that the show is great in almost all other aspects.
Regarding the "peach show" phenomenon the first show that comes to my mind is Scrubs. Often an excellent show with a terrific supporting cast, but an unrelentingly sappy and annoying main character in JD/Zach Braff.
JD was very hit-or-miss for me — and was entirely a miss on the Scrubs MD season/spin-off. But there are also stretches where they dialed back his neediness just enough that he worked well as the narrative center of the show.
That Reservation Dogs episode isn't just an all-timer, it would make a good proselytizing episode, which is the one you tell your skeptical friend/relative to watch when you're really trying to get them to watch the whole series. The proselytizing episode is rarely the pilot (which can be awkward or dissimilar to the later vibe of the series); you choose one that's largely self-contained, doesn't require knowledge of a long backstory, may involve a guest star your skeptic really likes, may involve a story that you think will resonate with them. Elora's Dad meets those criteria AND you get to tell your skeptic that the woman playing Elora wrote the script.
I completely agree about Otis and Sex Education; I've set aside this weekend to watch Season 4 but I'll definitely be focusing more on my knitting during Otis's scenes -- unless they have him become noticeably less of a self-centered jackass very quickly. But that supporting cast is so good! I'm not surprised that many of them are successful in a wide variety of projects, and I can't wait to see Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor.
I like so many of the Sex Ed actors, but Gatwa's star burns so bright on it that it only casts a harsher light on how annoying Otis is compared to his best friend.
And interesting point on "Elora's Dad" as a gateway episode. I might want one with some more explicitly Indigenous content — maybe "Come and Get Your Love," or "Mabel" — simply because the rest of the series is so much more Native-specific than "Elora's Dad," and you want to show newbies something representative of what they'll see with everything else.
That's a good point!
AND if Eric wasn't already the best character on the show, Otis's other scenes are with his cool AF mom or Maeve - his light simply has to dim alongside all of them lol
On your point about NYPD Blue glorifying police brutality at times it reminds me of a point I truly believe and said alot in the wake of George Floyd, if the liberals in Hollywood truly want to make a difference, rather than marching for BLM or donating money or tweeting, the biggest thing they could do to bring real change would be to make Internal Affairs Depts the hero’s of every cop show
Use the cultural and soft power of mass entertainment to make its clear the cop who reports his partner for misconduct is the hero not a rat, a few years of that across the board in movies and TV will make a real difference in how Americans view such things
Homicide’s Pembleton famously told Bayliss he had no beef with IA if it gets corrupt cops off the streets.
That needs to become the norm
More Serpicos and less Dirty Harry’s
This is a really good point. Even on shows that present a pretty sanitized view of the police, people from Internal Affairs usually portrayed as shifty manipulative sleazebags.
Yep, even Brooklyn Nine-Nine which admittedly is a parody of cop shows but still, it’s made by ppl with impeccable Liberal credentials yet IA are the bad guys, as they’ve been since Dirty Harry
It might sound stupid but I really believe it, if Hollywood made IA the heroes and cops who report their partners for misconduct the ppl e we root for it would do more to change the culture of policing and the public’s attitude to these issues than a billion dollars of donations to left wing activist groups
Yeah, I’m an enormous fan of unnecessarily in-depth and usually goofy mythologies/lores, I LOVE how wacky the John Wick world has become, and I’m not getting anywhere near The Continental because Mel Gibson.
I think many would argue the donut/peach theory also applies to Dawson and "Dawson's Creek."
Can't wait for the McKenzie story!
Surprised you didn’t bring up Sylvia in your NYPD wrap-up. I felt like she was such an important part of Andy’s growth and her death was so damn sad... “you more so.” 😭
Her death was almost comical, I unfortunately felt. They had just piled so much tragedy into Andy, and this was beyond. Plus, the abrupt way she said, “Take care of the baby” was practically Poochie announcing that he had to go back to his home planet.
Great character. Great performance. But they did both her and Andy dirty in the way she left.
Sylvia is the one character that seemed to suffer the most by Bocho/Milch's stance of not retreading HSB in any way (specifically Joyce). It's understandable that Sharon was disappointed with the role after S2.
Oh I suppose that’s true, but it got me in the feels at the moment!
Ah, Alan, I loved your NYPD Blue recaps so much! I adored that show and didn't really know anyone else who shared my passion for it here in Australia. We used to get the episodes weeks or months after they aired in the USA. Finding your recaps was like finding a friend who got why I was a fan of the show. I've been following your writing ever since. Thank you!
I'm very disappointed that Winning Time got canned. It was a messy show, but it was a fun show, and I'll miss it.
At least the finale gave us one more good "YES THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED" shot.
I'm not too disappointed it got canned, but I did enjoy Winning Time. But how in the heck did they not show the evolution of Show Time, the Magic-Worthy-Cooper fast break machine? Heck, it even got a shout out in Die Hard.
Hey Alan, I have a couple curiosities regarding NYPD Blue:
1. What is your season rankings?
2. I understand tv was different back then, but do you know why the show never really attempted (non-personal) serialized-arcs after the Marino storyline was wrapped-up? [Confusing as Bochco and Milch had great success with long-arcs on Hill Street Blues.]
1. Season 1 is best, followed by 3, 2, 4 or 5 in whatever order, then 6, then 7, and then the Gosselaar years in whatever order you want. (I thought he was good, but it was such a different show by that point that it really doesn't matter.)
2. Bochco stepped back around that point, and he was always the half of that partnership who was good at long-term narrative, where Milch's writing is always in the moment. I just don't think Milch had the focus, or interest, needed to sustain ongoing arcs. The few times he tried, they ended with a whimper. Deadwood was more serialized, but even there, a lot of the bigger ideas never went anywhere.
Thanks Alan, much appreciated!
It makes sense now that why certain arcs ended so disappointedly (eg. Diane’s undercover arc ending with Meloni’s Jimmy being killed offscreen in S4) whereas the personal subplots were better handled (eg. Andy’s prostate cancer in S5, Bobby’s heart condition in S6).
Your answer also helps provide clarity about the last two seasons of HSB when Milch was in charge (after Bochco was fired) - that it was likely other long time writers of the show aided to sustain the focus of the arcs.
I’d be curious to know if Jacobs already had Hawke attached to this role when she wrote the episode because of course you’re going to write a dual walk-and-talk oner shot with the king of walk-and-talk oners. Great episode, perfect casting, how will it end...
Rez Dogs is just wow. So good. The way Hawke and Jacobs both played those scenes with so much nuance and so much to interpret. What are they thinking and feeling? And I love the way they wrote his character, as well.
When NYPD Blue started, I was 16 in the UK but I already knew that it was edgy for a Network TV show and it was created by the guy who wrote Hill Street Blues. For the first 5 years it was a much watch show and even after that it still had the ability to hit home.
You wrote a great tribute to NYPD Blue, which along with ER, was my fave drama during my college years. I tried to never miss an episode - as there was no DVR technology back then!
I watched the Rez Dogs ep last night and wow was Ethan Hawke a perfect casting choice. Like, of course he's her dad. Devery Jacobs' put in one of the best performances we've seen in this show - so protective/guarded at first and then slowly letting her guard down as Hawke wins her over. I'm really happy Elora gets this ending - she really needs some family in her life.
As for Otis and Sex Education, I've never pinpointed how annoying Otis is, but you're right. I mean, I feel for him tho - cuz look who his closest people are. When your mom, your bestie and the girl you're in love with are so fucking cool, it's kind of hard not to be outshined loll.
The drawing out of him and Maeve getting together has definitely felt manufactured and frustrating. Still that show is a very particular kind of feel-good gem that doesn't make you feel good by pretending everything is great/perfect or ignoring big issues - I just think at its core it loves all its characters and is kind to them. It holds a special place in my heart.
Ethan Hawke should parachute into more shows more often, he really is that good at being instantly watchable. That character he brings to life is very nearly a carbon copy of one of my family members, his nuanced performance really gets all the complicated emotions, character flaws, and earnest self-awareness that make that guy go.
To me the quintessential peach show is New Girl, where everyone on the show is so funny...except Jess, who's not exactly terrible but obviously the weak link. It's striking to me how seamlessly she lifts out in those episodes that Zooey Deschanel missed when she was pregnant.
I was going to ask Alan about the formulaic nature of NYPD Blue & what he’d think of it today but he already mentioned in the post he’d like to see more of that format in current shows.
Nonetheless, it’s still interesting to read his old reviews where frustration is expressed at times with the standalone format as there’d be little/none carryover, even after a prominent episode. It’s also how I’ve been feeling at certain points going through the series for the first time but it helps that the show is great in almost all other aspects.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060814153222/http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/summaries/summary.txt.html
Regarding the "peach show" phenomenon the first show that comes to my mind is Scrubs. Often an excellent show with a terrific supporting cast, but an unrelentingly sappy and annoying main character in JD/Zach Braff.
JD was very hit-or-miss for me — and was entirely a miss on the Scrubs MD season/spin-off. But there are also stretches where they dialed back his neediness just enough that he worked well as the narrative center of the show.