Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Mick Mulvaney:
Tonight, we address the hot topic at the CBS watercooler. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/hiW3BBKV28
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) April 1, 2022
Tucker Carlson:
Late Night Open Thread: Calling Out People Who Should Not Be On TVPost + Comments (53)
As someone who loved “Julie & Julia” but could have done with more of the latter and less of the former, I’m gonna watch the shit outta this HBO Max series:
Leave it to the enormously talented Sarah Lancashire to tackle an iconic role defined by the incomparable Meryl Streep without a hint of fear. Looking forward to David Hyde Pierce as Mr. Child too.
Open thread!
PS: If you have HBO Max, “Somebody Somewhere” is an underrated gem, IMO. It is set in Manhattan, Kansas. I keep looking for Albatrossity’s birds!
Jeff Zucker, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, Glenn Thrush, Les Moonves, etc. White men in media who shaped sexist coverage of @HillaryClinton in 2016 — as she ran against a sexual predator. All subsequently connected to sexual misconduct scandals. Not a coincidence.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) February 4, 2022
Jeff Zucker, “as much as any person in the world,” rehabilitated an overleveraged, serially bankrupt, third-tier New York real-estate developer into a worldwide celebrity and political icon. Another good one from @Sulliview. https://t.co/vqteCuyH4F
— Benjamin Freed (@brfreed) February 3, 2022
… The through line? Nothing nobler than TV ratings, which always were Zucker’s guiding light, his be-all and end-all and, ultimately, his fatal flaw.
Two decades ago, as an NBC executive searching for a way to goose the floundering network’s popularity, he gave the green light to a reality show, “The Apprentice,” featuring a flashy mogul whose soon-to-be-famous tagline was “You’re fired.” Trump had a checkered history of bankruptcies, racism and failed real estate projects, but his confident bluster made him a natural on television…
Zucker created Trump the TV sensation, which was the necessary foundation for Trump the candidate. Years later, after moving from NBC to CNN, Zucker recollected very well that Trump was a self-proclaimed “ratings machine” — a rare instance of Trumpian truth-telling.
CNN infamously took his campaign speeches live, sometimes going so far as to broadcast images of an empty lectern with embarrassing chyrons such as “Breaking News: Standing By for Trump to Speak.” You can’t buy that kind of media…
… I’ll note that CNN recently has done important work, including specials about the Jan. 6 insurrection and a new “Democracy in Peril” show in the 9 p.m. slot recently occupied by Chris Cuomo.
But why is American democracy in peril? Some portion of the blame — not a tiny portion — belongs to the network executive who couldn’t resist the “ratings machine.”
how will our democracy survive now that that guy who single-handedly made donald trump a thing just got fired for smashing his subordinate
what is wrong with these people https://t.co/LqxKwCPQva
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) February 4, 2022
if my boss had overseen a fairly steep decline in company performance but never had anything bad to say about me or the job i was doing, i would also "raise concerns" about him being forced to resign. https://t.co/gsEoAVa5bc
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) February 4, 2022
Friday Night Open Thread: Predators BallzPost + Comments (37)
I know this conversation is going to be very 2008, but I think I am finally to the point that I am just letting my cable channel subscription go. I don’t recall the last time I ever watched anything, it brings me no joy, I don’t watch any sports other than the Pens, and I just can not justify the expense. I’m getting closer to retirement age and 100 more bucks in the bank every month seems smarter.
My netflix, hulu, and prime queues already are large than I could ever possibly finish, so why do I keep funding right wing extremist networks?
Has there ever been a brand that was more effectively destroyed than the Sunday Morning shows? In the 90’s and early 2000’s, I would wake up every morning and watch them. Even in college, it did not matter how hungover I was, I would not miss Meet the Press. But now, I honestly do not even know who is hosting what other than that execrable Chuck Todd (who was so wonderful running numbers in 2007-2008 and then just became a complete stooge when it came to actual politics). They’re just a non-entity. They shape no agenda, they make no news, it’s just a bunch of liars on able to spew nonsense without even being corrected or remotely challenged. What’s the point? Also, I dearly miss Charles Kuralt and Charles Osgood.
On a related note, say what you will about Chris Matthews, but to his credit he has fucked off into non-existence. No comeback attempts or any bullshit like Marky Mark or the other undesirables. He’s just a non-entity and off living his best life. Good for him. And good riddance.
I’m on episode 44 of Dirillis: Ertugrul (Resurrection: Ertugrul) and I am completely sucked in and have been since the first couple episodes. So much so that even when I learned there were 76 episodes in the first season, I kept watching. It’s based on the story of Ertegrul Bey, a turk who fathered Osman (which I assume will happen in Season 5 the way this show is paced).
The thing is, it is just shameless propaganda and basically a fictional rewrite of Ottoman History. I’m sure Erdogan loves it. It’s one part Game of Thrones, one part Triumph of the Will, and one part Dallas. And I can not get enough of it.
The fights are laughable, with every sword fight more and more absurd, and the important characters never getting hurt. Historical gender roles are strictly enforced, the Beys and Muslim scholars fawned over, and so on. As far as propaganda goes, it is a masterpiece.
The only show i have seen recently this over the top was a Russian state movie from 2018 called T-34. Do you have any other shows you have watched like this? Shows you know are just propaganda, but you watch them anyway?
With He Who Shall Not Be Named’s malign influence fading, I’m seeing more wholesome content on my Twitter timeline:
I don’t want to oversell William Shatner’s performance of Rocket Man, but it may be the greatest thing that ever fucking happened.
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 28, 2021
Nature is healing!
Speaking of Shatner, at the University of Florida in the late 1980s, there used to be a T.J. Hooker Viewing Society.
The hair!
Also speaking of Shatner, I read a story once that alleged that the young actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek TNG approached Shatner (who was doing a flashback cameo or something) for an autograph and was rudely rebuffed. The kid told a castmate — maybe even Jean Luc himself — who said something like, “Oh, did no one tell you Bill is an asshole? Bill’s an asshole! Sorry about that,” and then went to the producer or whomever to make Shatner give the kid an autograph. No idea if it’s true, but I want it to be so!
Open thread.