Thanks for the surf Dracula reference - perfectly encapsulates the modern trend. (Though your "dayenu" theory of great shows still my favorite.) I've often thought some of the shows like Perry Mason might be better off in the 90 minute self-contained stories (with 3 or 4 per season) like the British shows Morse, Lewis, Endeavour, Vera et al.
A good idea, if unlikely. As I've said here before, Poker Face would probably benefit from expanding to 90 minutes, even if it meant fewer episdoes overall.
More Reservation Dogs, Only Murders, Justified, The Bear...YES! Really looking forward to Full Circle. I will show up for anything Soderbergh does even if (it seems) no one else will except the critics. The Knick remains really great, High Flyin' Bird and Kimi were excellent.
All my respect to Idris Elba, however a seven hour real-time "thriller" set on a hijacked plane sounds like five hours of padding from what was a 90 minute movie script.
Absolutely cannot wait for more Justified. I know it's not the best show of all time, but it just might have been my favorite. Part of me hopes Boyd Crowder pops up for a cameo and the other part of me thinks his final line in the series was so perfect that they should leave him be.
Always Sunny’s longevity is so astounding. And I agree I won’t ever hold the last 10 seasons in as high regard to the first 6, but that has more to do with my aging. But you should finish the Ireland trip. It’s deeply emotional and touching and a new layer of one of the gang that you don’t expect. It’s important.
I came here to say this. The Ireland trip ended up being my favorite arc that they’ve ever had. And yes, it’s emotional and touching. Absolutely. But it doesn’t negate anything you say, Alan. They are still the same ole horrible gang. But it’s still some powerful stuff.
This is how I found out Perry Mason was cancelled. Too bad. I too found season 1 a slog, but enjoyed season two straight away. I'll miss it, even only for the amazing title card each week!
I know you enjoy Bob's Burgers, Alan. To me, that's a show that's as amazing as Sunny in a way, because I think it's possibly getting stronger in Season 13 because it's leaning slightly into more emotional episodes. It's still consistently funny, but there were three episodes this season that were just flat-out wonderful and touching. (Ep 3, What About Job?, Ep 10 Plight Before Christmas and Ep 22 Amelia.) Given the state of network TV, it's the best family sitcom on right now and the "truest," because they're picking really unique life lessons and often sad/bittersweet life lessons to cover. All from a show than can also whip out an animal anus episode whenever they want.
This is off topic a bit, but Alan's point about the Emmy bait window now being over got me thinking.
Because two episodes of this season of Top Chef aired in June, does that mean they are no longer eligible for the the 2023 Emmys? If so, that would break their streak of 16 years of nominations. Wonder why they decided to air the episodes when they did if these last two episodes are going to prevent a nomination.
Tom Holland has to fire his agent because his choices after getting Spider-man have all failed pretty miserably. I can see wanting to not be typecast as Peter Parker forever, maybe this Fred Astaire biopic will finally be a good fit. Dark, dour, miserable characters or brain-dead popcorn fare are not getting it done.
I think he’s an interesting case because his off-screen appearances have a lot of charm and charisma, but he picks these sour Serious Ac-Tor (said like Clayface) roles. Not saying it’s beyond his range, but there’s also not a lot of mid-budget stuff anymore that lets actors hone their comedy/romance timing.
Tom doesn't seem to be interested in comedy/romance scripts, because he could certainly get either greenlit considering his Spider-man films have LOTS of comedy and romance. Any exec would probably sacrifice a kidney to have him and Zendaya in a rom-com. Regardless, Tom only seems to want to do these dark, edgy roles and that would be fine if he could pick just one good script.
Ironically your review of The Crowded Room almost makes me want to watch it so I can see how the obvious twist plays out. But not sure it's worth sitting though seven episodes to get there.
Thank you so much for talking about DS9 so much lately - it's a fantastic series that has mostly aged very well, and really - that cast sings and dances so often! And yes, SNW does somehow feel very much like it too.
The Visitor remains one of my most painful episodes, in part because I didn't grow up with a father so it represented a sense of another possibility. Really sad it lost the Nebula to Coming of Shadows - which while very very good, also wasn't as personal.
While indeed most ferengi episodes are a bit rubbish there are some great ones coming up - especially Little Green Men, Body Parts and the Magnificent Ferengi (nevermind the second last episode of the series, Dogs of War, one of the many that Brooks directed).
A really good thing to use during a rewatch of the series is the "very honest about when things didn't work out" official companion from 2000 - https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Space-Nine-Companion-Star/dp/0671501062 - this is still one of my most treasured pieces of TV lit. I think you'll love it if you haven't already got it :)
The Sunny premiere was tremendous. It was vintage stuff for them. Also easily funnier than everything in Season 15 combined probably. Charlie’s entire story had me rolling, as did the progression of Mac’s gag throughout. So glad they are back.
Didn't watch. I had time to see either that or Crowded Room. I picked the latter. Haven't heard hugely positive things about the former, so don't feel like I missed out.
I find it amazing because, as you note in your review, this was a film project with various stars attached, and when it was mentioned in Entertainment Weekly decades ago as a possible James Cameron project, the “secret” was right there in the one sentence description.
Hey Alan, did you watch the new season of The Great? I couldn't find a mention of it from you anywhere (not that I did more than a cursory dive into your Twitter). My wife and I just finished it and thought it was, well, great.
I did. Keep meaning to mention it here, and then forgetting. I thought the first half of the season was good, but also kind of repetitive in terms of how often the same basic conflicts and resolutions from previous years kept happening again and again. Then came the sixth episode, where [REDACTED] happened, and things went to a new level. Elle Fanning was incredible as always, but especially in those later eps.
I thought the entire cast really leveled up in that second half. They've always been good, but some characters (Grigor for example) showed a depth I never expected.
Good TED Talk. Something happened in the last 10 minutes of FUBAR (admittedly, not the deepest or most profound show around) and I thought "why did that happen?" because it wasn't earned and it made me rethink everything that I saw in the previous episodes.
Thanks for the surf Dracula reference - perfectly encapsulates the modern trend. (Though your "dayenu" theory of great shows still my favorite.) I've often thought some of the shows like Perry Mason might be better off in the 90 minute self-contained stories (with 3 or 4 per season) like the British shows Morse, Lewis, Endeavour, Vera et al.
A good idea, if unlikely. As I've said here before, Poker Face would probably benefit from expanding to 90 minutes, even if it meant fewer episdoes overall.
More Reservation Dogs, Only Murders, Justified, The Bear...YES! Really looking forward to Full Circle. I will show up for anything Soderbergh does even if (it seems) no one else will except the critics. The Knick remains really great, High Flyin' Bird and Kimi were excellent.
All my respect to Idris Elba, however a seven hour real-time "thriller" set on a hijacked plane sounds like five hours of padding from what was a 90 minute movie script.
Absolutely cannot wait for more Justified. I know it's not the best show of all time, but it just might have been my favorite. Part of me hopes Boyd Crowder pops up for a cameo and the other part of me thinks his final line in the series was so perfect that they should leave him be.
Always Sunny’s longevity is so astounding. And I agree I won’t ever hold the last 10 seasons in as high regard to the first 6, but that has more to do with my aging. But you should finish the Ireland trip. It’s deeply emotional and touching and a new layer of one of the gang that you don’t expect. It’s important.
I came here to say this. The Ireland trip ended up being my favorite arc that they’ve ever had. And yes, it’s emotional and touching. Absolutely. But it doesn’t negate anything you say, Alan. They are still the same ole horrible gang. But it’s still some powerful stuff.
This is how I found out Perry Mason was cancelled. Too bad. I too found season 1 a slog, but enjoyed season two straight away. I'll miss it, even only for the amazing title card each week!
I know you enjoy Bob's Burgers, Alan. To me, that's a show that's as amazing as Sunny in a way, because I think it's possibly getting stronger in Season 13 because it's leaning slightly into more emotional episodes. It's still consistently funny, but there were three episodes this season that were just flat-out wonderful and touching. (Ep 3, What About Job?, Ep 10 Plight Before Christmas and Ep 22 Amelia.) Given the state of network TV, it's the best family sitcom on right now and the "truest," because they're picking really unique life lessons and often sad/bittersweet life lessons to cover. All from a show than can also whip out an animal anus episode whenever they want.
This is off topic a bit, but Alan's point about the Emmy bait window now being over got me thinking.
Because two episodes of this season of Top Chef aired in June, does that mean they are no longer eligible for the the 2023 Emmys? If so, that would break their streak of 16 years of nominations. Wonder why they decided to air the episodes when they did if these last two episodes are going to prevent a nomination.
Tom Holland has to fire his agent because his choices after getting Spider-man have all failed pretty miserably. I can see wanting to not be typecast as Peter Parker forever, maybe this Fred Astaire biopic will finally be a good fit. Dark, dour, miserable characters or brain-dead popcorn fare are not getting it done.
I think he’s an interesting case because his off-screen appearances have a lot of charm and charisma, but he picks these sour Serious Ac-Tor (said like Clayface) roles. Not saying it’s beyond his range, but there’s also not a lot of mid-budget stuff anymore that lets actors hone their comedy/romance timing.
Tom doesn't seem to be interested in comedy/romance scripts, because he could certainly get either greenlit considering his Spider-man films have LOTS of comedy and romance. Any exec would probably sacrifice a kidney to have him and Zendaya in a rom-com. Regardless, Tom only seems to want to do these dark, edgy roles and that would be fine if he could pick just one good script.
Ironically your review of The Crowded Room almost makes me want to watch it so I can see how the obvious twist plays out. But not sure it's worth sitting though seven episodes to get there.
Thank you so much for talking about DS9 so much lately - it's a fantastic series that has mostly aged very well, and really - that cast sings and dances so often! And yes, SNW does somehow feel very much like it too.
The Visitor remains one of my most painful episodes, in part because I didn't grow up with a father so it represented a sense of another possibility. Really sad it lost the Nebula to Coming of Shadows - which while very very good, also wasn't as personal.
While indeed most ferengi episodes are a bit rubbish there are some great ones coming up - especially Little Green Men, Body Parts and the Magnificent Ferengi (nevermind the second last episode of the series, Dogs of War, one of the many that Brooks directed).
A really good thing to use during a rewatch of the series is the "very honest about when things didn't work out" official companion from 2000 - https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Space-Nine-Companion-Star/dp/0671501062 - this is still one of my most treasured pieces of TV lit. I think you'll love it if you haven't already got it :)
The Sunny premiere was tremendous. It was vintage stuff for them. Also easily funnier than everything in Season 15 combined probably. Charlie’s entire story had me rolling, as did the progression of Mac’s gag throughout. So glad they are back.
Maybe I missed it but any thoughts about Kaley Cuoco’s new mystery show, ‘Based on a True Stoey’?
Didn't watch. I had time to see either that or Crowded Room. I picked the latter. Haven't heard hugely positive things about the former, so don't feel like I missed out.
I find it amazing because, as you note in your review, this was a film project with various stars attached, and when it was mentioned in Entertainment Weekly decades ago as a possible James Cameron project, the “secret” was right there in the one sentence description.
I don’t know anything about The Crowded Room except for the basic concept but is the twist that Amanda Seyfried isn’t real
Akiva Goldsman has asked me not to say. So I won't. Even though it's silly to think people won't figure it out before the first episode is over.
If you are interested look up the real life case that inspired the series.
I'm pretty sure Amanda Seyfried is real. I've seen her on numerous talk shows in addition to her dramatic work, and CGI just isn't that good yet.
Hey Alan, did you watch the new season of The Great? I couldn't find a mention of it from you anywhere (not that I did more than a cursory dive into your Twitter). My wife and I just finished it and thought it was, well, great.
I did. Keep meaning to mention it here, and then forgetting. I thought the first half of the season was good, but also kind of repetitive in terms of how often the same basic conflicts and resolutions from previous years kept happening again and again. Then came the sixth episode, where [REDACTED] happened, and things went to a new level. Elle Fanning was incredible as always, but especially in those later eps.
Still not over [REDACTED] and agreed Elle was a force of nature afterwards
Huzzah!
I thought the entire cast really leveled up in that second half. They've always been good, but some characters (Grigor for example) showed a depth I never expected.
Good TED Talk. Something happened in the last 10 minutes of FUBAR (admittedly, not the deepest or most profound show around) and I thought "why did that happen?" because it wasn't earned and it made me rethink everything that I saw in the previous episodes.