Your host pays a visit to 'Jeopardy!,' plus 'Severance' Season Two, a weird 'Abbott Elementary'/'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' crossover, 'American Primeval,' and more
Just wanted to drop in and express my ongoing appreciation/amazement at how much great content you churn out, Alan. I found you a few years back via nj.com Wire recaps and you’ve changed how I consume television. Can’t wait to dig in to the BCS book!
-Carl Reiner winning an Emmy for Alan Brandy on Mad About You
-Kramer involved in a couple unusual cases: his MAY appearance which is totally contradicted twice on his parent show; him also guest acting on Murphy Brown in the Seinfeld universe.
-The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air having castmembers of The Jeffersons & Diff’rent Strokes appear in their series finale.
-Chris Carter giving two of his other shows, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, series finales on The X-Files.
-Ted Buckland given an unhappy ending on another show Cougar Town much like Dharma & Greg you mentioned on bluesky.
-Carla Gugino reprising her role of Karen Disco in a stealth manner on Justified.
- Dr. Greiger (Chicago Hope) jumping networks to make a quick cameo on H:LotS.
-Diagnosis Murder having crossovers with ‘60s shows (Mannix, Mission: Impossible, & even The Dick Van Dyke Show).
-Two brief animated crossovers b/w Marvel & DC: Clark Kent appearing in a phone booth on Spider-Man ‘81 & 4 characters (Nick Fury, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, and Johnny Storm) in a funeral scene in tribute to Jack Kirby on ‘90s animated Superman.
Like David E. Kelley & Dick Wolf, Steven Bochco is in his own category of how strangely he did crossovers:
-Main characters from his gritty shows, Howard Hunter and Victor Sifuentes & Abby Perkins, having quick cameos on his musical show Cop Rock.
-Only a minor recurring character, Buck Naked, crossing over on NYPD Blue.
-The most obscure characters (Morrissey, Krueger, & Richards) from NYPD Blue being allowed to network-crossover on Brooklyn South.
-James Martinez appearing on a sitcom, The Drew Carey Show.
(These two you discussed on bluesky:
- The X-Files and Picket Fences having a subtle crossover in early ‘90s.
- the writers offscreen crossover b/w CSI & Two and a Half Men)
Re: Chris Carter. TXF also had the Cops crossover as mentioned in Alan's Rolling Stone article. They also had a Homicide crossover with Detective John Munch showing up in the episode 'The Unusual Suspects' which saw The Lone Gunman characters in Baltimore getting questioned by John Munch.
You are not the only person I've heard this from today. We're not sure what is going on. Out of curiosity, did you preorder it directly from Abrams? If not, from where?
I also received my book preordered from Abrams books on December 13th and shipped from Hachette today! I was very surprised to get it three and a half weeks before the official release date.
Enjoyed the Jeopardy piece. (I will sheepishly admit that I do not have a Rolling Stone subscription, but get its content served via Apple News. I hope in this new media age y'all get credit (compensation) for that somehow. Oh and it was offered in audio format which was great.) Fan of the show since its inception in the pre-SNL Don Pardo days.
Also a quick note of praise for Noah Wylie, the consummate TV actor. Reminds me of James Garner in his versatility. From the sunshiny Dean Devlin shows -The Librarians and Leverage:Redemption - to ER and now The Pitt. While that designation used to be more one of dismissal than praise, I would hope now the talent is better recognized.
Really, really ironic that The Pitt hired a slew of nepo babies, and then made the nepo baby character the South Asian character- which spurred reminders of ER and treatment of Asian (good lord, the way Ming Na Wen's character was initially written was pretty much every Asian stereotype in the book) and South Asians on that show. I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far, but I'm a bit worried about the way these characters are portrayed as well as the hour-by-hour format. Then again, I will probably still watch every episode, just like I watched ER, despite all my complaints, for all those moments Wells et al get right (for example, the entire saga with the intubation of the patient with dementia).
Speaking of ER PTSD though, I will admit I gave the helicopter a side eye as it was landing (RIP Romano).
Does the Bradley Cooper (from Burnt) photograph in The Bear count as a Strange Crossover? Because I found that extremely jarring!
Cannot wait for Severance. That show blew me away in season 1. Such a weird show, but I ate it up. It kind of reminded me of the same thrills I'd get from the best of LOST--just the sheer audacity of the storytelling and the excitement of not knowing where it was going to go next. Just incredible filmmaking.
Being a Philly guy (well, ok, Delaware, but close enough) the psychology of the area is always funny to me. We have an endless supply of jokes and insults about our region, but the minute someone "outside" dares to make a comment, everyone circles the wagons. I remember one wiseguy drew up a map of Philadelphia based on national sports broadcasts, and it basically consisted of a dozen cheesesteak places and Santa's grave, because those were the only two local tidbits the announcers ever mentioned.
Note for Philly visitors: the best tip I ever heard about finding a good cheesesteak place came from the guide at my daughter's college orientation at Drexel University. The basic rule of thumb is that if the place is cash-only and has terrible customer service, you know you're getting a great sandwich.
I actually think the St. Elsewhere/Cheers one is kind of terrible, despite my love for both shows. They didn't know how to properly shoot on that stage, and the rhythms feel wildly off whenever one of the Cheers characters wanders in to crack jokes. I love the idea of it, but it doesn't really work.
I read the Jeopardy piece shorty after it went up — really enjoyed the set-visit aspect.
I’ll have more to say later on the crossover stuff at least but I just want to throw out there that as a South Jersey kid who now lives right outside Philly and has been eating cheesesteaks his whole life until recently giving up meat I’ve always recommended Jim’s as the best in Center City if not anywhere, with the caveat that I haven’t been since its recent post-fire reopening largely due to the aforementioned diet change.
As someone who loves Abbott and has never seen an episode of It's Always Sunny, I didn't particularly care for the crossover.
I didn't expect to like the Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks one either but that one surprised me. I really need to catch up with Lower Decks, I didn't jump onboard originally because I assumed it was just going to be mocking the franchise and by the time I discovered I was very, very wrong I was very, very far behind already.
Really enjoyed the first 2 episodes of The Pitt - though I’m not sold on the hour by hour thing yet. One thing that I loved about ER was all of the relationships between the staff and how they developed/changed over time. That seems harder to cultivate when these people are only spending 1 day together.
It's among my bigger concerns with the show — especially since on occasion it attempts to do weeks/months worth of evolution within the course of that one day.
I found time to read your Jeopardy article during my lunch. WOW! Great work, Alan, just really great writing. I really enjoyed that and the closing paragraph was perfect.
Loved your pieces this week, especially the one on Jeopardy. As a former Jeopardy! Champion the show has a special place in my heart. It was fun reading your behind the scenes account.
Curious, for the lists like the crossovers, do you do those just off your extensive TV History memory? Or do you need look up some past articles etc.... to refresh yourself on famous episodes? Always impressive seeing your deep knowledge of the medium.
A mix of both. The St. Elsewhere/Cheers crossover is burned in my brain, as are several of the others. But I wasn't a Bones viewer, for instance. So it was a mix of me googling "weird TV crossovers" and asking other critics and TV nerds. And I still missed a few gimmes, like the Supernatural/Scooby-Doo one.
I watched the series premiere last night and it felt a bit jarring, I must say. And I'm a Gen Xer who watched ER religiously. It just feels like this fast-paced style of TV has gone out of style. There's so much action in such a short period of time. I feel like I got used to the prestige TV model, which is actually slower-paced IMO. A lot of people talking in rooms. Things happen on Breaking Bad and The Sopranos of course, there are action sequences, but not at the pace they happen on a show like The Pitt. There's maybe one big sequence in an episode vs. like 10 on a show like ER or The Pitt. Then you add in all the medical jargon. I feel like I'm out of practice watching a show like this!! Maybe it's also the amount of new characters and actors I have to keep up with - but it's A LOT!
I'm pairing this with starting a rewatch of ER, and that's a nice balance of, oh yeah, remember that nurse or that nurse? And hey, I didn't remember how hot Susan Lewis was lol.
Just wanted to drop in and express my ongoing appreciation/amazement at how much great content you churn out, Alan. I found you a few years back via nj.com Wire recaps and you’ve changed how I consume television. Can’t wait to dig in to the BCS book!
Some Honorable Mentions for Strange Crossovers:
-Carl Reiner winning an Emmy for Alan Brandy on Mad About You
-Kramer involved in a couple unusual cases: his MAY appearance which is totally contradicted twice on his parent show; him also guest acting on Murphy Brown in the Seinfeld universe.
-The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air having castmembers of The Jeffersons & Diff’rent Strokes appear in their series finale.
-Chris Carter giving two of his other shows, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, series finales on The X-Files.
-Ted Buckland given an unhappy ending on another show Cougar Town much like Dharma & Greg you mentioned on bluesky.
-Carla Gugino reprising her role of Karen Disco in a stealth manner on Justified.
- Dr. Greiger (Chicago Hope) jumping networks to make a quick cameo on H:LotS.
-Diagnosis Murder having crossovers with ‘60s shows (Mannix, Mission: Impossible, & even The Dick Van Dyke Show).
-Two brief animated crossovers b/w Marvel & DC: Clark Kent appearing in a phone booth on Spider-Man ‘81 & 4 characters (Nick Fury, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, and Johnny Storm) in a funeral scene in tribute to Jack Kirby on ‘90s animated Superman.
Like David E. Kelley & Dick Wolf, Steven Bochco is in his own category of how strangely he did crossovers:
-Main characters from his gritty shows, Howard Hunter and Victor Sifuentes & Abby Perkins, having quick cameos on his musical show Cop Rock.
-Only a minor recurring character, Buck Naked, crossing over on NYPD Blue.
-The most obscure characters (Morrissey, Krueger, & Richards) from NYPD Blue being allowed to network-crossover on Brooklyn South.
-James Martinez appearing on a sitcom, The Drew Carey Show.
(These two you discussed on bluesky:
- The X-Files and Picket Fences having a subtle crossover in early ‘90s.
- the writers offscreen crossover b/w CSI & Two and a Half Men)
Great call on Carla Gugino in Justified. That was such a great little "if you know, you know" bit.
Re: Chris Carter. TXF also had the Cops crossover as mentioned in Alan's Rolling Stone article. They also had a Homicide crossover with Detective John Munch showing up in the episode 'The Unusual Suspects' which saw The Lone Gunman characters in Baltimore getting questioned by John Munch.
John Munch is the God of his own TV multiverse. The number of times that character has appeared in other series is just amazing.
I just had UPS drop off my Saul preorder. Happy to have received it for sure but should I have gotten it already?
You are not the only person I've heard this from today. We're not sure what is going on. Out of curiosity, did you preorder it directly from Abrams? If not, from where?
Same. Ordered from Abrams. Shipped by Hachette.
(I ordered the BB book at the same time; it showed up just before Christmas.)
Directly from Abrams on 10/11/24. Their own order on their website says it’s hasn’t shipped. Like Chris, shipped from Hachette.
Very strange. Thanks, guys.
I also received my book preordered from Abrams books on December 13th and shipped from Hachette today! I was very surprised to get it three and a half weeks before the official release date.
Enjoyed the Jeopardy piece. (I will sheepishly admit that I do not have a Rolling Stone subscription, but get its content served via Apple News. I hope in this new media age y'all get credit (compensation) for that somehow. Oh and it was offered in audio format which was great.) Fan of the show since its inception in the pre-SNL Don Pardo days.
Also a quick note of praise for Noah Wylie, the consummate TV actor. Reminds me of James Garner in his versatility. From the sunshiny Dean Devlin shows -The Librarians and Leverage:Redemption - to ER and now The Pitt. While that designation used to be more one of dismissal than praise, I would hope now the talent is better recognized.
Really, really ironic that The Pitt hired a slew of nepo babies, and then made the nepo baby character the South Asian character- which spurred reminders of ER and treatment of Asian (good lord, the way Ming Na Wen's character was initially written was pretty much every Asian stereotype in the book) and South Asians on that show. I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far, but I'm a bit worried about the way these characters are portrayed as well as the hour-by-hour format. Then again, I will probably still watch every episode, just like I watched ER, despite all my complaints, for all those moments Wells et al get right (for example, the entire saga with the intubation of the patient with dementia).
Speaking of ER PTSD though, I will admit I gave the helicopter a side eye as it was landing (RIP Romano).
Does the Bradley Cooper (from Burnt) photograph in The Bear count as a Strange Crossover? Because I found that extremely jarring!
You're right about Jim's tho
Thanks for the generous read this morning!
Cannot wait for Severance. That show blew me away in season 1. Such a weird show, but I ate it up. It kind of reminded me of the same thrills I'd get from the best of LOST--just the sheer audacity of the storytelling and the excitement of not knowing where it was going to go next. Just incredible filmmaking.
Being a Philly guy (well, ok, Delaware, but close enough) the psychology of the area is always funny to me. We have an endless supply of jokes and insults about our region, but the minute someone "outside" dares to make a comment, everyone circles the wagons. I remember one wiseguy drew up a map of Philadelphia based on national sports broadcasts, and it basically consisted of a dozen cheesesteak places and Santa's grave, because those were the only two local tidbits the announcers ever mentioned.
Note for Philly visitors: the best tip I ever heard about finding a good cheesesteak place came from the guide at my daughter's college orientation at Drexel University. The basic rule of thumb is that if the place is cash-only and has terrible customer service, you know you're getting a great sandwich.
Thank you, Alan. Love the Jeopardy inside and insights. I had a trial subscription for RS but it was just too much to consume regularly.
Looking forward to return of Severance.
Too bad the Peter Berg new show doesn’t sound like something I would hang with.
Alan, I’ve been meaning to ask - are there any crossovers you felt underwhelmed by or come to mind as bad?
I actually think the St. Elsewhere/Cheers one is kind of terrible, despite my love for both shows. They didn't know how to properly shoot on that stage, and the rhythms feel wildly off whenever one of the Cheers characters wanders in to crack jokes. I love the idea of it, but it doesn't really work.
I read the Jeopardy piece shorty after it went up — really enjoyed the set-visit aspect.
I’ll have more to say later on the crossover stuff at least but I just want to throw out there that as a South Jersey kid who now lives right outside Philly and has been eating cheesesteaks his whole life until recently giving up meat I’ve always recommended Jim’s as the best in Center City if not anywhere, with the caveat that I haven’t been since its recent post-fire reopening largely due to the aforementioned diet change.
As someone who loves Abbott and has never seen an episode of It's Always Sunny, I didn't particularly care for the crossover.
I didn't expect to like the Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks one either but that one surprised me. I really need to catch up with Lower Decks, I didn't jump onboard originally because I assumed it was just going to be mocking the franchise and by the time I discovered I was very, very wrong I was very, very far behind already.
Really enjoyed the first 2 episodes of The Pitt - though I’m not sold on the hour by hour thing yet. One thing that I loved about ER was all of the relationships between the staff and how they developed/changed over time. That seems harder to cultivate when these people are only spending 1 day together.
It's among my bigger concerns with the show — especially since on occasion it attempts to do weeks/months worth of evolution within the course of that one day.
I found time to read your Jeopardy article during my lunch. WOW! Great work, Alan, just really great writing. I really enjoyed that and the closing paragraph was perfect.
Thanks, Joel! It was a real pleasure to do.
Loved your pieces this week, especially the one on Jeopardy. As a former Jeopardy! Champion the show has a special place in my heart. It was fun reading your behind the scenes account.
Curious, for the lists like the crossovers, do you do those just off your extensive TV History memory? Or do you need look up some past articles etc.... to refresh yourself on famous episodes? Always impressive seeing your deep knowledge of the medium.
A mix of both. The St. Elsewhere/Cheers crossover is burned in my brain, as are several of the others. But I wasn't a Bones viewer, for instance. So it was a mix of me googling "weird TV crossovers" and asking other critics and TV nerds. And I still missed a few gimmes, like the Supernatural/Scooby-Doo one.
My book arrived yesterday!
Re: The Pitt.
I watched the series premiere last night and it felt a bit jarring, I must say. And I'm a Gen Xer who watched ER religiously. It just feels like this fast-paced style of TV has gone out of style. There's so much action in such a short period of time. I feel like I got used to the prestige TV model, which is actually slower-paced IMO. A lot of people talking in rooms. Things happen on Breaking Bad and The Sopranos of course, there are action sequences, but not at the pace they happen on a show like The Pitt. There's maybe one big sequence in an episode vs. like 10 on a show like ER or The Pitt. Then you add in all the medical jargon. I feel like I'm out of practice watching a show like this!! Maybe it's also the amount of new characters and actors I have to keep up with - but it's A LOT!
I'm pairing this with starting a rewatch of ER, and that's a nice balance of, oh yeah, remember that nurse or that nurse? And hey, I didn't remember how hot Susan Lewis was lol.