Television (no longer temporary)

[Giff]

That's exactly where I'm at with Beef. I'm watching it more to see where it goes than through an "enjoyment" factor. (We're only 2 episodes in)

Finishing the last two episodes tonight and really can’t predict where this is going. My buddy the other day just said whatever you think is gonna happen isn’t gonna happen. Looking forward to it.

[Pruitt IV]

Even the monologue, especially when JT came out was weirdly flat... As was the Barry Gibbs Talk Show skit.

Stuff that usually kills just kind of didn't hit.

There's something really off about SNL lately. It's the weakest cast they've had in a long time, and the pacing and direction is off as well.

[Giff]

That's exactly where I'm at with Beef. I'm watching it more to see where it goes than through an "enjoyment" factor. (We're only 2 episodes in)

Finishing the last two episodes tonight and really can’t predict where this is going. My buddy the other day just said whatever you think is gonna happen isn’t gonna happen. Looking forward to it.

Meh should have ended after the penultimate episode.

[mister d]

Lost their glue guy in Beck Bennett and never replaced him.

[rass]

Down to the last couple of episodes of Reservation Dogs and I don't want it to end. Pretty sure I would commit crimes to make sure some of those characters are happy. I love them.

[Nonlinear FC]

Even the monologue, especially when JT came out was weirdly flat... As was the Barry Gibbs Talk Show skit.

Stuff that usually kills just kind of didn't hit.

There's something really off about SNL lately. It's the weakest cast they've had in a long time, and the pacing and direction is off as well.

I just went back and looked at the 2023 episode list... They've had some decent episodes and the Please Don't Destroy and Weekend Updates are consistently pretty good.

There are always lulls on SNL, going back to the very beginning. If you watch some of the early days, not highlights, but full episodes... Yeesh.

That said, while I like a number of the cast members, beyond Bowen Yang, it feels like a cast full of supporting members. There's nobody that can come out and blow the doors off. I like when former cast members come back, like Maya Rudolph for the ABBA christmas album, but it also kind of underscores your point.

[Nonlinear FC]

Down to the last couple of episodes of Reservation Dogs and I don't want it to end. Pretty sure I would commit crimes to make sure some of those characters are happy. I love them.

Oh goodness, I totally forgot about that show!!

Thanks, need to get it back into rotation.

[Jerloma]

I just burned through six seasons of Peaky Blinders in 2 weeks and...

[+] spoiler

Is it to be presumed from the ending that Tommy's just going to feign being dead like Alfie and go be an actual nomadic gypsy for the rest of his life, or is he going to kill some Nazis?

[The Sybian]

Down to the last couple of episodes of Reservation Dogs and I don't want it to end. Pretty sure I would commit crimes to make sure some of those characters are happy. I love them.

Oh goodness, I totally forgot about that show!!

Thanks, need to get it back into rotation.

I've almost stared episode 1 of the final season several times, but don't want it to end. Such a quirky, great show. I heard Taika Waititi on a few podcasts a couple months ago and decided to finally watch What We Do in the Shadows. Watched the movie first, then started the TV show. It's a mockumentary about Vampires living in a house in Staten Island with their human "familiars" which are like servants. Totally absurd and occasionally laugh out loud funny.

[tennbengal]

What We Do in the Shadows is fucking hilarious and only gets better as the seasons go. Jackie Daytona forever.

[DaveInSeattle]

Has anyone else started the "Masters of the Air" on AppleTV?

I've watched the first 2 episodes, and its pretty good so far. The flight scenes are terrifying.

Heard an interview with the main writer (he also wrote the "Day of Days" episode of Band of Brothers) and it was pretty interesting about the level of detail that they put into making this.

[Nonlinear FC]

Has anyone else started the "Masters of the Air" on AppleTV?

I've watched the first 2 episodes, and its pretty good so far. The flight scenes are terrifying.

Heard an interview with the main writer (he also wrote the "Day of Days" episode of Band of Brothers) and it was pretty interesting about the level of detail that they put into making this.

That's on our list.. We try not to start too many shows at once...

To that point: We started Death and Other Details on Hulu last week... Two eps in and we are hooked. Starring Mandy Patinkin, so, if he's not your cup of tea, don't bother.

It's kind of an amalgam of Glass Onion, Only Murders and... Succession (sorta/kinda). And I'm too lazy to look it up but there's a new actress in a starring role and she's pretty good.

4 out of 5 straight lines... again, with the only 2 episodes in caveat.

[Pruitt IV]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

[tennbengal]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

I get it but...I really loved the show even with all that. And Harrison Ford's character was SO good as season 1 went on.

[Nonlinear FC]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

I get it but...I really loved the show even with all that. And Harrison Ford's character was SO good as season 1 went on.

I would say it's in the same general "suspend disbelief" zone as, say, Ted Lasso.

[tennbengal]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

I get it but...I really loved the show even with all that. And Harrison Ford's character was SO good as season 1 went on.

I would say it's in the same general "suspend disbelief" zone as, say, Ted Lasso.

Exactly right. It's a fantasy - comedic - but you cannot really take it literally. Within that framework, I thought it had moments of brilliance.

[rass]

I think I commented the same on here somewhere. The way everyone's (except for the daughter) relationship with Segal's character just resets to normal after a year of him grieving by being a drug-addled asshole is rough, but I think it ends up worth trying to get past that as a viewer.

[The Sybian]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

I get it but...I really loved the show even with all that. And Harrison Ford's character was SO good as season 1 went on.

I would say it's in the same general "suspend disbelief" zone as, say, Ted Lasso.

Ted Lasso analogy is great, I didn’t make that connection, but it’s a similar unrealistic world, but to a lesser degree. I loved that show, but if you aren’t feeling it, there’s too much great Tv to waste time.

[brian]

If nothing else Shrinking is worth watching for Ted McGinley’s line reading of “eat a bag of dicks”

[DaveInSeattle]

If nothing else Shrinking is worth watching for Ted McGinley’s line reading of “eat a bag of dicks”

"Eat a bag of dicks", huh?

[govmentchedda]

Two episodes of "Shrinking" was enough for me. Really started nicely, but the second episode had so many incidents of what Roger Ebert called "The Idiot Plot" (events that could only happen if every character involved is an idiot) that I just couldn't go on.

[+] spoiler

The psychologist telling the neighbour to back off when the neighbour seems to have been the only reason the girl survived the year without her mother? The angry husband somehow finding Jason Segal's character at the soccer game? Inviting a violent, damaged man to live in the same house as a 16 year old girl?

I get it but...I really loved the show even with all that. And Harrison Ford's character was SO good as season 1 went on.

I would say it's in the same general "suspend disbelief" zone as, say, Ted Lasso.

Ted Lasso analogy is great, I didn’t make that connection, but it’s a similar unrealistic world, but to a lesser degree. I loved that show, but if you aren’t feeling it, there’s too much great Tv to waste time.

Same showrunner/EP on both shows. Bill Lawrence also did Scrubs which required a suspension of disbelief as well.

[tennbengal]

It is definitely Lawrence’s signature style - which I vibe with but for sure understand why it isn’t for everyone.

[GoodKarma]

Has anyone else started the "Masters of the Air" on AppleTV?

I've watched the first 2 episodes, and its pretty good so far. The flight scenes are terrifying.

Heard an interview with the main writer (he also wrote the "Day of Days" episode of Band of Brothers) and it was pretty interesting about the level of detail that they put into making this.

I've started it as well and agree. I was reading (I think on Reddit) that the CGI is terrible but I don't agree with/see that at all.

[GoodKarma]

What We Do in the Shadows is fucking hilarious and only gets better as the seasons go. Jackie Daytona forever.

Next season will be the final which I think is great...go out on a high note.

[DaveInSeattle]

Has anyone else started the "Masters of the Air" on AppleTV?

I've watched the first 2 episodes, and its pretty good so far. The flight scenes are terrifying.

Heard an interview with the main writer (he also wrote the "Day of Days" episode of Band of Brothers) and it was pretty interesting about the level of detail that they put into making this.

I've started it as well and agree. I was reading (I think on Reddit) that the CGI is terrible but I don't agree with/see that at all.

I thought the CGI was pretty good...but I was watching on my laptop. Maybe it doesn't work as well when scaling up on a big home TV.

Pretty crazy to imagine these 19-20 year guys climbing into a B17 in England, and then just having to fly in formation to the target area. The flak is completely and totally random...if your time is up, its up.

And those B17's were the height of technology at the time! I remember a few years back being out sailing, and one of the few remaining flyable B17's flew over the water. The thing was LOUD...and slow. And one of the guys on the boat said "Can you believe we fought a war using those things....and won?"

[Johnnie]

The end of this cold open was pretty good. But I still hate how they give Nikki Haley a platform. Luckily, she's toast.

Props to Ayo though. Even if it was for the skit, I like that that's how she delivered that question.

[DaveInSeattle]

Last night we watched the first episode of FEUD: Capote vs The Swans.

It's very well done (Gus Van Sant directed it), and my god...Naomi Watts is fantastic as Babe Paley (wife of Bill Paley, the head of CBS), but a little bit of Truman Capote's voice and affectation goes a long way.

(and does Diane Lane ever age? She looks amazing)

[DSafetyGuy]

But I still hate how they give Nikki Haley a platform.

Normalizing a racist presidential candidate through late-night television has never resulted in anything bad, though.

[Pruitt IV]

But I still hate how they give Nikki Haley a platform.

Normalizing a racist presidential candidate through late-night television has never resulted in anything bad, though.

It was irritating as hell when they Had Hilary Clinton on, but then Sarah Palin? Trump and Elon Musk as hosts? Fuck that shit.

[brian]

TIL the name of the town in Bob’s Burgers is Seymour’s Bay.

[DaveInSeattle]

But I still hate how they give Nikki Haley a platform.

Normalizing a racist presidential candidate through late-night television has never resulted in anything bad, though.

It was irritating as hell when they Had Hilary Clinton on, but then Sarah Palin? Trump and Elon Musk as hosts? Fuck that shit.

Oh, it gets worse...

SNL names Shane Gillis as host, years after dropping him over racist joke

“Saturday Night Live” announced comedian Shane Gillis as the host of its upcoming episode, less than five years after hiring and then almost immediately dropping him as a cast member over previous jokes that many viewed as offensive.

[Johnnie]

It's been 5 years since he got shitcanned and I honestly couldn't give a shit less.

His stand-up special on Netflix is friggin' great and I'm pretty sure he learned from the incidents.

[The Sybian]

It's been 5 years since he got shitcanned and I honestly couldn't give a shit less.

His stand-up special on Netflix is friggin' great and I'm pretty sure he learned from the incidents.

I agree. I felt like he got railroaded a bit. I don’t remember the joke that got him fired, but IIRC, someone dug up one race based joke from a skit years prior and the SJWs branded him as racist for one race-based joke. He’s a bit of a Philly meathead, but not a bad guy. I don’t get judging a comedian because of one joke, that when you read it from a transcript sounds horrible. But the media runs a story, and comment sections are filled with people raging and labeling when they never saw the skit/joke and don’t know the comedian.

[EnochRoot]

Has anyone else started the "Masters of the Air" on AppleTV?

I've watched the first 2 episodes, and its pretty good so far. The flight scenes are terrifying.

Heard an interview with the main writer (he also wrote the "Day of Days" episode of Band of Brothers) and it was pretty interesting about the level of detail that they put into making this.

I've started it as well and agree. I was reading (I think on Reddit) that the CGI is terrible but I don't agree with/see that at all.

[+] spoiler

They're going to need to introduce more characters cuz they all keep getting blow'd up out of the sky.

[EnochRoot]

It's been 5 years since he got shitcanned and I honestly couldn't give a shit less.

His stand-up special on Netflix is friggin' great and I'm pretty sure he learned from the incidents.

I agree. I felt like he got railroaded a bit. I don’t remember the joke that got him fired, but IIRC, someone dug up one race based joke from a skit years prior and the SJWs branded him as racist for one race-based joke. He’s a bit of a Philly meathead, but not a bad guy. I don’t get judging a comedian because of one joke, that when you read it from a transcript sounds horrible. But the media runs a story, and comment sections are filled with people raging and labeling when they never saw the skit/joke and don’t know the comedian.

So a comedian makes a shitty racist joke (or takes part in one) and he pays the ultimate price. Except he didn't, and he's been given a second chance.

What's the problem?

[Johnnie]

Nothing will ever come close to racist for me the way Ari Shaffir did The Amazing Racist 20ish years ago before he became more well known.

Rounding up Mexicans at Home Depot and then driving to the immigration office. Going to a Asian restaurant dressed as a geisha and asking "What kind of Chinese" everyone was. That shit was wild.

[EnochRoot]

Nothing will ever come close to racist for me the way Ari Shaffir did The Amazing Racist 20ish years ago before he became more well known.

Rounding up Mexicans at Home Depot and then driving to the immigration office. Going to a Asian restaurant dressed as a geisha and asking "What kind of Chinese" everyone was. That shit was wild.

Watch sitcoms from the 80s and you'll see what can no longer pass today. One of Cheers' biggest moments was when Sam and Diane were seriously slapping each other across the face. Hell, Blazing Saddles was one of the funniest movies of all time and it'd never get made today. Society evolves.

[L-Jam3]

First having Chappelle on the goodnights, and then Nikki Haley, and then Gillis, who was fired after his sets where he talks about gays and Asians come to light? If they're trying to get Bowen Yang to quit, then this is one way to do it.

[Ryan]

Will Ferrell (Will Ferrell!) said the n-word on actual SNL. Twice I think.

[The Sybian]

Will Ferrell (Will Ferrell!) said the n-word on actual SNL. Twice I think.

And hundreds of off the air, but I’m sure Tim Meadows had deserved it.