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You are here: Home / Archives for TV & Movies / Television

Television

Sunday Morning Open Thread: We Like to Watch Argue

by Anne Laurie|  July 23, 20238:37 am| 177 Comments

This post is in: Food, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Television, Trump Indictments

Sunday Morning Open Thread 8
 
American consumer products, still taking over the world!

The first “American Chinese food” restaurant opens in Beijing.

For Chinese like me who’ve only seen the oyster pail in TV series, the food is intriguing. For Americans in China, such Chinese takeaway may come with a sense of nostalgia. @USA_BaoziLover pic.twitter.com/UelNDQt8b8

— Worth Work Words (@work_worth) July 21, 2023

If the Hollywood strikes drag on, we’ll need fresh content:

Fabulous https://t.co/Qx7tHpRAIh

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 21, 2023

The new Trump TV Show
“Trump’s Trials”°•Oct. 2: New York civil fraud trial°•Jan. 15: Second E. Jean Carroll civil defamation trial°•March 25: Manhattan hush-money trial°•May 20: Federal classified documents trial in Florida
Check local listings https://t.co/fblZ6W6lVm

— EJ Dionne (@EJDionne) July 21, 2023

From the Jason Aldean meltdown to “pajama boys”, here are 5 ~totally real~ stories you might’ve missed if you don’t watch Fox News.

And yes, I do talk about Jesse Watters’ mom: pic.twitter.com/67uAGUqjZE

— Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) July 21, 2023

Sunday Morning Open Thread: We Like to <del>Watch</del> ArguePost + Comments (177)

Friday Evening Inspirational Open Thread: Doing Good Quietly

by Anne Laurie|  October 14, 20225:52 pm| 70 Comments

This post is in: Popular Culture, Something Good Open Thread, Television

Losing Angela Lansbury completes the trifecta of losing the total mensch group of TV crime-solvers: Falk (Columbo), Klugman (Quincy) and Lansbury (Fletcher).

Each of them used their show influence to make things better for people around them, not for themselves.

Here's how: /1

— John Bull (@garius) October 12, 2022

Look for the helpers…

I've written about how Klugman leveraged Quincy to help save lives before in detail below. Why did he do it? To quote:

“There’s got to be some value on TV. You can’t just have screeching tires.”https://t.co/xJPDwwjNtb

— John Bull (@garius) October 12, 2022

That brings us to Peter Falk. I discovered during research ages ago that Falk was actually an uncredited writer on several Columbo episodes.

Why uncredited? Because he was doing it to cover for the NAMED writer who was sick and being treated for cancer.

Falk (and others) knew that if the studio knew the writer was too sick to work, they’d fire him, losing the medical plan covering his cancer care.

So Falk wrote them and lied to studio staff repeatedly whenever they asked where the writer was, saying he was just off set that day…

Finally we have Angela Lansbury. It was pretty much an open secret in the acting community that if you were a faded star on hard times whose pension, healthcare (via union, agency or studio) depended on continued credited appearances you reached out to Lansbury.

show full post on front page

Lansbury had been there. She was a star of the golden age. She KNEW how hard it was, and how lucky she was to have Murder She Wrote later in life.

Ever wondered why so many old hollywood and TV faded legends show up randomly in Murder She Wrote?

Lansbury.

If you were struggling for cash or minimum appearances you reached out to Lansbury. She’d get you a part on Murder She Wrote. Might not be a big one. But it would be a credit, it would be paid, and it would COUNT.

And she did the same for young actors struggling to start out too

Klugman, Falk and Lansbury were all actors who’d legit come up, and built careers, the hard way. And they all saw themselves as having a duty to the people around them and society beyond. They each realised they could leverage their on-set power to help others, and did.

RIP.

Yup. I should have mentioned this, with hindsight.

Lansbury had FIRM opinions on equality of opportunity for actors from all backgrounds AND on character portrayal.

Didn't always win against the studio, but did so more than most.
https://t.co/PigKj2c5ev

— John Bull (@garius) October 12, 2022

Oh, and Falk was an INCREDIBLE artist, who used to love sketching anyone and everything on set.

Here's one of his self-portraits as Columbo, the role he utterly adored. pic.twitter.com/y7KtOv9wYO

— John Bull (@garius) October 12, 2022

"Someone who transported you into a different venue, gave you relief, gave you entertainment. Gave you joy and laughter. Tears. All those things."

"I'd like to be remembered as someone who was… capable of doing that."

– Angela Lansbury.

Source: https://t.co/4CmmpwGcVg

— John Bull (@garius) October 12, 2022

Friday Evening Inspirational Open Thread: Doing Good QuietlyPost + Comments (70)

Late Night Open Thread: Calling Out People Who Should Not Be On TV

by Anne Laurie|  April 4, 20222:45 am| 53 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Russia, Television, Trump Crime Cartel, Assholes, Our Failed Media Experiment

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:

show full post on front page

This tweet is still up. https://t.co/gegsCa0pfD

— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) April 3, 2022


 

Tucker Carlson’s best bud, who should take some time away from *all* media, for their own good:

Glenn should count his blessings. Putin could have sent him to the Front. https://t.co/R3uD4rnwd1

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) April 2, 2022

it's weird all kinds of ppl who insist they don't support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, get very triggered at the suggestion that Russia is losing.

— Obama freed the gays ???? (@Nitzky89) March 30, 2022

Area Substacker is QUITE LITERALLY calling bombing "two regions of Eastern Ukraine" against their will as "ensuring the[ir] independence."

Usually he hides his outright propaganda more subtly than this. https://t.co/OZxKmzkTeE

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 29, 2022

Hammer of the Glenn…

This is a general fact. I don't think nearly as many people are being paid to say stupid things as one might think. They just have a hammer, and they want to use that hammer. https://t.co/wgBAbl3vxP

— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) February 25, 2022

They'll use people and ditch them almost instantly because they just want to hammer. It's not that they have no lodestar, it's that they have one lodestar — or in many cases, an anti-lodestar — and from it they cannot deviate.

— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) February 25, 2022

Late Night Open Thread: Calling Out People Who Should Not Be On TVPost + Comments (53)

Bon Appétit! (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  March 31, 20222:24 pm| 170 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Television

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!

Bon Appétit! (Open Thread)Post + Comments (170)

Friday Night Open Thread: Predators Ballz

by Anne Laurie|  February 4, 20229:51 pm| 37 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Television, Women's Rights Are Human Rights, Our Failed Media Experiment

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

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How damaging is the dirt that CNN's probe uncovered? So bad, Jeff Zucker resigned before he could be fired "and is not poised to receive any severance," @TatianaSiegel27 reports. https://t.co/cv9SUr7q8y

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) February 3, 2022

So Jeff Zucker's alleged paramour at CNN was Allison Gollust, CNN's executive vice president.

Her job before that? Gov. Andrew Cuomo's comms director.

This article suggests their relationship is why CNN protected the Cuomos for so long.https://t.co/I7T1Ryp4SM

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 2, 2022

UPDATE: "[T]he timeline on Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust’s coupledom is not only off by more than two decades, say sources who have worked with the pair — the CNN power couple also repeatedly lied about their relationship to their corporate bosses"https://t.co/E5qLCdSYHf

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 3, 2022

is it any wonder this network treated trump’s bonanza of ethical dumpster fires not as an actual threat to the country but as a series of entertaining reality show how-will-he-wiggle-through-this-jam game show challenges

— kilgore trout, cryptopolice chief (@KT_So_It_Goes) February 3, 2022

also gotta point out what a hypocritical game cnn has made the last several years of sparring with fox news as if they have some sort of moral high ground when the only distinction is their leadership was sleeping with subordinates consensually and not by career extortion

— kilgore trout, cryptopolice chief (@KT_So_It_Goes) February 4, 2022

Friday Night Open Thread: Predators BallzPost + Comments (37)

Cord Cutting

by John Cole|  January 28, 202212:18 am| 99 Comments

This post is in: Television

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?

Cord CuttingPost + Comments (99)

Killing the Brand

by John Cole|  June 20, 20211:28 pm| 169 Comments

This post is in: Television

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.

Killing the BrandPost + Comments (169)

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