TV 19 - Simpsons Did It

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Sam Esmail isn't magic. Leave the World Behind is a stinker.

Part with the teslas was funny. You know Elmo is mad

 

[Slap Shot]

I binged Band of Brothers over the past few days - the first time I watched it since probably 2009. Still holds, although I realized a few episodes (6 & 8 primarily) were not my favorite. 9 still kills.

Still the whole thing is a masterpiece and I surely won't go another 14 years before I do it again.

 

[Kepler]

I mean the last two seasons of Mr. Robot you could tell he wasn't magic...

The final half of the final season was good. The penultimate season... I try not to think about it.

 

[aparch]

Sam Esmail isn't magic. Leave the World Behind is a stinker.

Sigh. It looked okay.

Was the best part the FSD Tesla's crashing?

 

[Handyman]

The final half of the final season was good. The penultimate season... I try not to think about it.

When they reveal the "secret" about Mr. Robot I was out. I thought they were building to something great but...

You can tell they never planned after Season 1...which is why that was really the only season that makes sense all the way through. 2 was great after you figure out the twist so at least they figured out somewhere to go. After that they were spinning in circles.

 

[Kepler]

When they reveal the "secret" about Mr. Robot I was out. I thought they were building to something great but...

When? Because if you're talking about the S1 reveal, that's only the very tip of the iceberg; it's not even that important.

The way the whole comes together at the end with the full integration of all the plots was handled very well. I was satisfied with it. Any given subplot was either stronger or weaker or more or less compelling depending on your personal tastes. The entire gestalt, though, is more than the sum and quite good storytelling.

 

[Kepler]

Sigh. It looked okay.

Was the best part the FSD Tesla's crashing?

Yes.

There were a couple other things worth salvaging. Hawke and Myha'la were excellent. The "big reveal" is an excellent idea, but is expressible in a 3-minute YouTube with no trimmings.

There are some good cinematography choices. The angles and the lighting are good.

Almost everything that sucks about it is apparently the fault of the source material -- it's the type of book NYT viewers and NPR listeners thinks is "important" or "insightful." In other words, an overbaked elitist premise we all thought of and rejected as college juniors.

 

[Handyman]

When? Because if you're talking about the S1 reveal, that's only the very tip of the iceberg; it's not even that important.

The way the whole comes together at the end with the full integration of all the plots was handled very well. I was satisfied with it. Any given subplot was either stronger or weaker or more or less compelling depending on your personal tastes. The entire gestalt, though, is more than the sum and quite good storytelling.

No I watched the whole run. I meant the Mastermind stuff and some other stuff. Just convoluted and dumb.

 

[Slap Shot]

Michael Che's joke about RFKj on Epstein's plane was awesome, and the baby on a plane skit the best of the night.

 

[Kepler]

Michael Che's joke about RFKj on Epstein's plane was awesome, and the baby on a plane skit the best of the night.

Driver was a great host. He is relaxed and a natural doing comedy. The musical guest was atrocious; she cannot hit a note without auto tune. But my god she's pretty, and she was good in her cameo skit.

The baby and Facebook were the best skits -- there were none that were terrible but also very few that were memorable except the baby.

 

[Kepler]

No I watched the whole run. I meant the Mastermind stuff and some other stuff. Just convoluted and dumb.

So, episode 38 of the same argument we have been having for 20 years.

Convoluted can be excessive, but convoluted is not necessarily excessive. Serious question: what do you think of Proust? Or Joyce? Are they "dumb"?

Note: I have this opinion about modern art. I hate it. I think it's dumb, and when people tell me that means I don't understand I bridle and think "no, you're just a fake." But my problem with convoluted classics in other media is I genuinely take pleasure from them, and I do understand them. So all the evidence is that in modern art it's me who is dumb.

Worse, as I listen to more Zappa and avant-garde music, I go from hating it and thinking it is mere noise to enjoying it and finding pleasure in it, and that is partly because I learned about it. The very opposite of dumb.

 

[Scarlet]

As someone who constantly shares my travails of flying next to screaming babies, I thought that skit was fantastic. Surprised it was post Weekend Update though. It was overall one of the best shows of the season.

 

[Kepler]

As someone who constantly shares my travails of flying next to screaming babies, I thought that skit was fantastic. Surprised it was post Weekend Update though. It was overall one of the best shows of the season.

They cut away to commercial right after that skit but I swear that audience response was the loudest shout of approval I have ever heard on SNL. My god that struck a chord. Your f-ck trophy is not my cross to bear.

Rolling Stone published a headline (the "story" is a recap of the show) claiming Driver is one of the best hosts of all time and I agree. I do not particularly buy what he's selling as a persona, but I was extremely impressed with how easy and natural he was through all the skits. Enough so that when he played the halting Christian chocolatier I was doubly impressed that he could play wooden, when he is naturally so fluid.

He's actually talented, somehow. I hope he has the opportunity to appear in real movies someday. Maybe Ferrari will be the first.

Edit: apparently, he was in J. Edgar which I have still missed and Lincoln where I do not remember him.

 

[Slap Shot]

They cut away to commercial right after that skit but I swear that audience response was the loudest shout of approval I have ever heard on SNL. My god that struck a chord. Your f-ck trophy is not my cross to bear.

Rolling Stone published a headline (the "story" is a recap of the show) claiming Driver is one of the best hosts of all time and I agree. I do not particularly buy what he's selling as a persona, but I was extremely impressed with how easy and natural he was through all the skits. Enough so that when he played the halting Christian chocolatier I was doubly impressed that he could play wooden, when he is naturally so fluid.

He's actually talented, somehow. I hope he has the opportunity to appear in real movies someday. Maybe Ferrari will be the first.

Edit: apparently, he was in J. Edgar which I have still missed and Lincoln where I do not remember him.

I have not seen them but Marriage Story and The Report look interesting. BlacKkKlansman was excellent.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Driver was a great host. He is relaxed and a natural doing comedy. The musical guest was atrocious; she cannot hit a note without auto tune. But my god she's pretty, and she was good in her cameo skit.

The baby and Facebook were the best skits -- there were none that were terrible but also very few that were memorable except the baby.

Haven’t watched the Baby yet but I haven’t watched one yet that flopped. The chocolatier was a clear successor to Schweddy Balls but still hit. Inside the Actor’s studio was good, though ironically the worst performance in that came from the “main character” actor being interviewed. The Court Case had good writing but could’ve been better with some better timing and delivery. Beep Beep might’ve dragged on a little too long but as someone with a family member who says that it was going to get good reviews from
me regardless based on the premise.

What throws me off when they have an actor host is how much better the actor is at reading lines and maintaining composure. I know the cast are comedians first, but you get Driver coming in and memorizing every line of 6-7 sketches and nailing the character in each one, while some cast members will only be in one or two sketches, still have to read the cue cards and flub the delivery.

 

[French Rage]

What throws me off when they have an actor host is how much better the actor is at reading lines and maintaining composure. I know the cast are comedians first, but you get Driver coming in and memorizing every line of 6-7 sketches and nailing the character in each one, while some cast members will only be in one or two sketches, still have to read the cue cards and flub the delivery.

Doesn't Lorne actively want them using the cue cards nowadays so they can change up the specific lines whenever they feel like it?

 

[Kepler]

Memorization and reading the cards work at cross purposes -- they're different parts of your brain. You pretty much need to commit. If you commit to memorization and you flake you have to improv "small" -- the idea is bridge to another actor who will pick the script back up and pull you back onto it. The cue cards are there as a crutch but you'll stumble using them. If you commit to the cue cards, and you're a pro, you're fine but inflexible.

 

[Handyman]

So, episode 38 of the same argument we have been having for 20 years.

Convoluted can be excessive, but convoluted is not necessarily excessive. Serious question: what do you think of Proust? Or Joyce? Are they "dumb"?

Note: I have this opinion about modern art. I hate it. I think it's dumb, and when people tell me that means I don't understand I bridle and think "no, you're just a fake." But my problem with convoluted classics in other media is I genuinely take pleasure from them, and I do understand them. So all the evidence is that in modern art it's me who is dumb.

Worse, as I listen to more Zappa and avant-garde music, I go from hating it and thinking it is mere noise to enjoying it and finding pleasure in it, and that is partly because I learned about it. The very opposite of dumb.

I doubt I woukd find them dumb. Plenty of stuff can be convoluted but still in the end work. This didnt and part of it is they had no clue how the show was supposed to end...or if they did they never wrote a road map to get there. Episodic TV is not jazz, you need to have a plan or things that happen later won't make sense. And you can only rely on "he is an unreliable narrator" for so long.

This happens a lot. I never finished Ozark because the stories were so ridiculous by the penultimate season that it strained any real credibility. They had built up so many stories and people kept switching sides or narrowly escaping to the point the stakes no longer mattered.

I honestly planned to rewatch all of Mr. Robot and see if maybe that helped it work better...I just can't force myself to do it. Made decent progress when the SO watched but she quit halfway through season 3 because it got boring. I tried to convince her by explaining what was to come (reading synopses) and she vetoed it.

 

[Kepler]

The Curse.

The pilot was great. Excellent writing and direction, and IINM it's the principal guy who does both. Stone's fine as the other lead. It treats you like an adult, which is jarring after the last 30 years of copy-paste clever irony and/or adolescent fart sniffing.

Love it so far.

 

[Kepler]

I doubt I woukd find them dumb. Plenty of stuff can be convoluted but still in the end work. This didnt and part of it is they had no clue how the show was supposed to end...or if they did they never wrote a road map to get there. Episodic TV is not jazz, you need to have a plan or things that happen later won't make sense. And you can only rely on "he is an unreliable narrator" for so long.

This happens a lot. I never finished Ozark because the stories were so ridiculous by the penultimate season that it strained any real credibility. They had built up so many stories and people kept switching sides or narrowly escaping to the point the stakes no longer mattered.

I honestly planned to rewatch all of Mr. Robot and see if maybe that helped it work better...I just can't force myself to do it. Made decent progress when the SO watched but she quit halfway through season 3 because it got boring. I tried to convince her by explaining what was to come (reading synopses) and she vetoed it.

When I rewatch it I will probably skip S3, it was weak and I don't think understanding the full arc will help much. But hey it may.

Overall I think the show is excellent and captures the spirit of the time well.