I watched the first two episodes of Paradise and… I liked it! No disagreement from me that it’s a bit ridiculous but I found the characters compelling especially Sterling K Brown. I like that it’s bright lit unlike (ahem) that other show. I just think it’s fun and will continue watching.
Did anyone else getting Better Call Saul vibes from the opening shot/scene of Cobel's car in the middle of nowhere? Maybe it's just because of Alan's book I have Saul on my mind haha.
Nice Severance recap. It’s really interesting that innie Dylan may be more of the husband his wife wants than outie.
I disagree that this episode trended more towards it being Helena and not Helly - unless you mean there are no overt signals in this one like the computer switch. The way she is acting - in both her word choice and when she chooses to chime in on a topic - seemed odder than even the first two episodes. There’s also Irving’s reaction when she touched him.
Even with how the episode ended and the goat room, I think the part most seared in my mind was the Milchick and Natalie interaction with the gift.
If Michael McKean played Saul, I think he would have been a very different character, even with all the cheap, ambulance-chasing trappings of Saul. McKean likely brings a very different energy and a different spin to Saul. McKean's age would have been a factor, he's 10 years older than both Cranston and Esposito (he's a year younger than Jonathan Banks). That likely changes the dynamics between all of these characters.
Also means if there was a spin-off, we wouldn't be getting Rhea Seehorn because she's 25 years younger than McKean, so obviously it worked exactly as it should have.
I'm glad it didn't happen, but I can understand the network's hesitancy with the Saul character. He was so tonally different for the show, and even though that may have worked for a guest spot here and there, it was a little risky to give him a larger role.
Of course, BO is so talented that in the end it just added so much more to Breaking Bad (and for the record, I'm still a BB > BCS guy, which seems more and more rare as time goes on)
Alan, seeing Damien Lewis and also talking of Tom Holland, I wondered - I know older set historicals about royal politics sometimes grind your gears, but have you considered watching Wolf Hall - it's possibly the best British historical drama that's been made in recent memory. I know it's a PBS co-release, and I'm sure you've seen bits and pieces about its original series (2015 iirc) and the new adaptation of Mantel's final book. But it's majestic, and a brilliant, quite harrowing, portrait of realpolitik, gender politics, class, the role of new money versus aristocracy, and indeed the management of a temperamental (if slightly parliamentary-bound) monarch-cum-dictator.
Hi Alan! If you're looking for a new show for the treadmill, have you considered Supernatural? With 15 seasons it could last you a good bit. I wouldn't hold it up to the same standard as ER (my favorite show of all time so I really love reading everything you have to say about it!) but I still really love it! Would love to hear your thoughts on the show as well!
I caught up on the latest ep of The Pitt and thinking you should have started (like the show) a betting pool in the comments earlier in the season. We could have taken bets on how many sets of scrubs Whitaker will go through in the course of his shift.
Loving S2 of Severance so far. And I absolutely *loved* that the needle drop when Mark was prepping to go to the Severed floor was 'Love Spreads' by the Stone Roses, which is from their much-delayed, highly anticipated, but ultimately critically divisive difficult second album. Superb meta joke.
McAvoy always stood out to me in Band of Brothers, so I found him a long time ago. Fassbender and Hardy look so different from the actors I know that they're much easier for me to overlook. I noticed Andrew Scott on my last rewatch. I think most of his scenes were at night. Dominic Cooper has the "blink and you'll miss it" appearance.
The one I always forget about is Jamie Bamber, who is in like 3 episodes. And in all my rewatches (there have been many), I've never remembered to look for Tom Hanks' brief cameo.
Bamber doesn't get a ton to do, so he's only noticeable if you look for him, especially in "The Breaking Point." Scott's a significant character in the D-Day episode — he and Winters land near each other from the parachute jump, and then he insists on tagging along on the mission to take out the Brecourt Manor guns, despite not being in Easy Company — though his face is smeared with black for most of it.
Apparently Andrew Scott is also an extra for the D-Day landing in Saving Private Ryan. One would assume that whatever he did in that film (he's credited as "soldier on the beach" like that helps) probably propelled him into a small speaking part in BoB but I haven't tried to find him in that film.
Severance and The Pitt are the highlights of the week. I wanted to ask you actually, do you feel like The Pitt is built to be a returning show? I only ask because when I start enjoying something as much as I am The Pitt, my brain starts to worry that the show I love is going to be gone. On the one hand, it's done well critically and it's a clear sign that TV from 1994 is still relevant but I worry they've given themselves a hard task with the shift format and that doesn't lend itself well to returning again and again. On Severance, I found myself constantly amazed by what they're able to do and it feels like a completely immersive experience. Merrit Weaver is always fantastic and I thought her performance this week was really fascinating. I also got stuck on the fact that Cobel played Stone Roses - Love Spreads which came out in 1994. There must have been a deliberate reason for choosing it. Does this mean the show is set then? Is it a song Cobel loves? I admire the fact there's so little about the world we actually know. We don't know where it's set, what time period and that's on top of all the strange Lumon stuff. I just can't wait to see more and I especially love the fact that's its parceled out to us weekly.
Warner Bros and Wells are definitely invested in making Pitt an ongoing show. I wouldn't be opposed to them abandoning the real-time format in later seasons, now that the characters are established. But it doesn't seem impossible for them to do it again, this time dealing with Whitaker and the other newbies as a bit more seasoned.
That's a good point. Here's hoping we get more then. Also, I've already pre-ordered the book which will be with me in the UK in mid-Feb, but hearing you pitch Plan and Execution on EHG I'm definitely going to do a full rewatch when it arrives. Better Call Saul feels like something that just finished but also something I'm sure I've forgotten big portions of and to hear Dave, Sarah and Tara getting lost in it again made me desperate to watch it all again. I just need the book to come!
I watched the first two episodes of Paradise and… I liked it! No disagreement from me that it’s a bit ridiculous but I found the characters compelling especially Sterling K Brown. I like that it’s bright lit unlike (ahem) that other show. I just think it’s fun and will continue watching.
Did anyone else getting Better Call Saul vibes from the opening shot/scene of Cobel's car in the middle of nowhere? Maybe it's just because of Alan's book I have Saul on my mind haha.
The snow made it feel like a Fargo shot to me
Nice Severance recap. It’s really interesting that innie Dylan may be more of the husband his wife wants than outie.
I disagree that this episode trended more towards it being Helena and not Helly - unless you mean there are no overt signals in this one like the computer switch. The way she is acting - in both her word choice and when she chooses to chime in on a topic - seemed odder than even the first two episodes. There’s also Irving’s reaction when she touched him.
Even with how the episode ended and the goat room, I think the part most seared in my mind was the Milchick and Natalie interaction with the gift.
Yeah for sure I got some weird Helena vibes on the severed floor, especially her whole interaction with Irving.
If Michael McKean played Saul, I think he would have been a very different character, even with all the cheap, ambulance-chasing trappings of Saul. McKean likely brings a very different energy and a different spin to Saul. McKean's age would have been a factor, he's 10 years older than both Cranston and Esposito (he's a year younger than Jonathan Banks). That likely changes the dynamics between all of these characters.
Also means if there was a spin-off, we wouldn't be getting Rhea Seehorn because she's 25 years younger than McKean, so obviously it worked exactly as it should have.
I'm glad it didn't happen, but I can understand the network's hesitancy with the Saul character. He was so tonally different for the show, and even though that may have worked for a guest spot here and there, it was a little risky to give him a larger role.
Of course, BO is so talented that in the end it just added so much more to Breaking Bad (and for the record, I'm still a BB > BCS guy, which seems more and more rare as time goes on)
I'm a recent Severance convert and enjoyed Gwendoline Christie's appearance.
Alan, seeing Damien Lewis and also talking of Tom Holland, I wondered - I know older set historicals about royal politics sometimes grind your gears, but have you considered watching Wolf Hall - it's possibly the best British historical drama that's been made in recent memory. I know it's a PBS co-release, and I'm sure you've seen bits and pieces about its original series (2015 iirc) and the new adaptation of Mantel's final book. But it's majestic, and a brilliant, quite harrowing, portrait of realpolitik, gender politics, class, the role of new money versus aristocracy, and indeed the management of a temperamental (if slightly parliamentary-bound) monarch-cum-dictator.
Hi Alan! If you're looking for a new show for the treadmill, have you considered Supernatural? With 15 seasons it could last you a good bit. I wouldn't hold it up to the same standard as ER (my favorite show of all time so I really love reading everything you have to say about it!) but I still really love it! Would love to hear your thoughts on the show as well!
I caught up on the latest ep of The Pitt and thinking you should have started (like the show) a betting pool in the comments earlier in the season. We could have taken bets on how many sets of scrubs Whitaker will go through in the course of his shift.
Loving S2 of Severance so far. And I absolutely *loved* that the needle drop when Mark was prepping to go to the Severed floor was 'Love Spreads' by the Stone Roses, which is from their much-delayed, highly anticipated, but ultimately critically divisive difficult second album. Superb meta joke.
McAvoy always stood out to me in Band of Brothers, so I found him a long time ago. Fassbender and Hardy look so different from the actors I know that they're much easier for me to overlook. I noticed Andrew Scott on my last rewatch. I think most of his scenes were at night. Dominic Cooper has the "blink and you'll miss it" appearance.
The one I always forget about is Jamie Bamber, who is in like 3 episodes. And in all my rewatches (there have been many), I've never remembered to look for Tom Hanks' brief cameo.
Bamber doesn't get a ton to do, so he's only noticeable if you look for him, especially in "The Breaking Point." Scott's a significant character in the D-Day episode — he and Winters land near each other from the parachute jump, and then he insists on tagging along on the mission to take out the Brecourt Manor guns, despite not being in Easy Company — though his face is smeared with black for most of it.
Apparently Andrew Scott is also an extra for the D-Day landing in Saving Private Ryan. One would assume that whatever he did in that film (he's credited as "soldier on the beach" like that helps) probably propelled him into a small speaking part in BoB but I haven't tried to find him in that film.
"Simoon [sic] Pegg"
Sigh. There's always a typo, isn't there. At least it's a more unusual one than if I'd written "Simone Pegg"
It's very difficult to proofread your own work. (If I offer a correction, I'm completely fine with my comment being deleted after it's been seen.)
Severance and The Pitt are the highlights of the week. I wanted to ask you actually, do you feel like The Pitt is built to be a returning show? I only ask because when I start enjoying something as much as I am The Pitt, my brain starts to worry that the show I love is going to be gone. On the one hand, it's done well critically and it's a clear sign that TV from 1994 is still relevant but I worry they've given themselves a hard task with the shift format and that doesn't lend itself well to returning again and again. On Severance, I found myself constantly amazed by what they're able to do and it feels like a completely immersive experience. Merrit Weaver is always fantastic and I thought her performance this week was really fascinating. I also got stuck on the fact that Cobel played Stone Roses - Love Spreads which came out in 1994. There must have been a deliberate reason for choosing it. Does this mean the show is set then? Is it a song Cobel loves? I admire the fact there's so little about the world we actually know. We don't know where it's set, what time period and that's on top of all the strange Lumon stuff. I just can't wait to see more and I especially love the fact that's its parceled out to us weekly.
Warner Bros and Wells are definitely invested in making Pitt an ongoing show. I wouldn't be opposed to them abandoning the real-time format in later seasons, now that the characters are established. But it doesn't seem impossible for them to do it again, this time dealing with Whitaker and the other newbies as a bit more seasoned.
That's a good point. Here's hoping we get more then. Also, I've already pre-ordered the book which will be with me in the UK in mid-Feb, but hearing you pitch Plan and Execution on EHG I'm definitely going to do a full rewatch when it arrives. Better Call Saul feels like something that just finished but also something I'm sure I've forgotten big portions of and to hear Dave, Sarah and Tara getting lost in it again made me desperate to watch it all again. I just need the book to come!
Glad someone else caught the Stone Roses tune - I assumed it was a meta joke about long-delayed second seasons/albums...