And yet, the show keeps getting renewed. Why? Because GIRLS generates a lot of buzz. And for HBO, they’re less concerned with ratings than they are about branding. They can boast to subscribers that they have the cutting edge shows. So in that regard GIRLS is a runaway hit.
Lena gets that. And even though many original fans of the show have been turned off by storylines in the last few years, she keeps finding ways to stir the pot.
Last season they did a non-consensual sex scene where the girl was commanded to get down on all fours. Many found the scene degrading. (Yeah, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press – this is a “comedy.”) Everyone watched the YouTube video. No one watched the show. And the result? GIRLS got renewed. Seriously, Lena is a master showman. I’d hire her to run NBC right now.
Think about all the other shows that are on TV that have higher ratings. Bet you never heard of 80% of them. But you sure know about GIRLS. Lady Gaga can wear all the meat she wants, she’s not in Lena Dunham’s league.
And now the latest controversy. On last Sunday night’s episode (that nobody watched) there was a scene where Allison Williams (how can I put this delicately?) has her lover try to give her a colonoscopy with his nose. Now if they had only done that on PETER PAN people would have watched. She could have played the scene with Christopher Walken and maybe had some of his lines pasted to her cheeks.
Adding fuel to the brouhaha is that Allison’s dad is the lead news anchor of NBC. He of course was asked for his reaction. And as expected he gave the requisite diplomatic show of support to his daughter. What is he going to say? “I’m trying to be the distinguished face of NBC News. Walter Cronkite’s daughter never let some guy motorboat her ass on television.” So his answer was stock and carefully worded, and every news organization in the country ran it. Score another one for Ms. Dunham.
I watched the scene (on YouTube). It’s like fifteen seconds. That’s it? That’s the big whoop? (I found one version where someone overdubbed her singing from PETER PAN during her proctology porn and it was hilarious.)
At a time when actual pornography is as easily accessible as YouTube, the fact that people would rather see Allison Williams’ little fifteen second snippet again tells you the power of hype and the genius of Lena. The real crowning glory will come when Allison Williams wins an AVN award. (which, by the way, is more prestigious than a Golden Globe)
So now I’m curious. What will Lena do next? I’m sure it will be audacious. Graphic childbirth? A girl-on-girl with Charlie Rose’s daughter? Lena will keep this show on the air for ten years. It’ll be getting 24,000 viewers a week by then but Lena will have her fourth book deal and third movie deal so what does she give a shit? I’m only sorry Colonel Tom Parker isn’t still alive to see this.
WARNING: Below is a screenshot from Sunday night's scene. It is somewhat graphic. You're welcome to log out now if it's something you don't want to see. But I just can't resist a caption.
"No, I don't see the earring."
76 comments :
I only read 2 blogs on this whole interweb thing, this one and your Mark Evanier. He claims that when you said that Walter Matthau and Art Carney originated the roles of Oscar and Felix on stage in the odd couple, they at some point traded roles, you repeated an urban myth. He wants to "lunch" with you and thinks the discussion will end in a fist fight.
Friday question, probably more for readers of this blog, but who would win a fist fight between Mark and you? Not playing favorites, even though Mark probably has height and weight on you, I think you would win. Since your married with kids, and hang out with sports people, you know how to fight. Mark never mentions fights from his youth, so I think he is lacking experience.
Second Friday question, who would pay for the knock down drag out lunch? Or since I brought it up, it is now a business expense?
I almost choked on my oatmeal (eating it to lose some weight, not an indication I'm toothless) reading this. The imagine of Walken on all fours reading his lines off Allison's butt and the AVN-Golden Globes comparison was priceless.
Speaking of Col. Parker, I finally caught up with the Jerry Weintraub documentary during my free HBO weekend. Weintraub wanted to get into music promotion and asked the Colonel what it would take to get Elvis to tour (this was in mid-late 60s). The Colonel replied "A million dollars - within 24 hours." Weintraub was able to convince an investor to fork over a cashier's check for that amount which he then delivered to the Colonel. Weintraub had no idea what the tour would look like or where it would go, but he made it work. Talk about chutzpah.
Parker was so impressed he cut him in for half the concession revenue - a suitcase full of hundred bills. Those colorful days of daring are long gone.
Wanted this as a separate post. Found this NY Times story on writing staff of LAST MAN STANDING. Almost all are in their 50s. Series is unique in that it uses current political references. Thought that was a no-no in sitcoms, using topical subjects, because it dated the shows when they hit syndication. Don't remember Jack Benny referencing Eisenhower.
NYT story link is below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/arts/television/last-man-standing-uses-an-experienced-stable-of-writers.html?ref=television&_r=0
Think if Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer did something similar HBO would have renewed "The Newsroom"?
Anyway, this tops the big news story we've been watching all week here in the Syracuse area: Singer/Actor Rick Springfield being sued by two women claiming injury from Springfield falling on them ass-first during a concert ten years ago. Local newscasters really having a time using the word "butt" in the story.
She should have done it with Pinocchio.
A: Do you love me?
P:(muffled) Oh yeah, baby.
SPROING!
A: Oh God, yes-yes-yes. I can tell.
P: Today I became a MAN!
I don't recall Kathy Kronkite doing anything remotely like this when she was appearing on 'Hizzoner'.
But maybe that's why it only ran 7 episodes.....
Cronkite (Excuse Me)
A lot of unearned animosity in the opening post. Aren't women supposed to be proud of their bodies these days, without men putting them down? Isn't HBO to be commended for valuing cutting-edge over ratings? What is it, the six-figure book advance?
A coincidentally appropriate subject, given Cheryl Boone of the Oscars called cinematography nominee Dick Pope "Dick Poop". That's one for the ages.
To Bill O: When a post is about Lena Dunham, there is no such thing as "unearned animosity."
BTW, I don't think she's a genius at getting publicity so much as she's an overindulged attention whore who was lucky enough to be born into the right family, know the right people, hold all the currently fashionable PC opinions and get all the media doors thrown open wide (very wide) for her. As we say where I come from, she was born on third base and thinks she hit a triple. The very idea that the New Yorker publishes her self-indulgent brain drivel as "humor" is a sad testament to how far that magazine has fallen. And to think, James Thurber thought its standards had gone to hell when it stooped to running John O'Hara.
I don't have anything against Dunham personally. I've never watched her show. I've watched a couple of clips and they were enough to convince me it's a self-indulgent show about self-indulgent, uninteresting and narcissistic over-privileged bitches.
Also, lines like "I'm eating grapes as a snack" are supposed to be 1)comedy gold and 2)genius writing?
To Pat Reeder: You show exactly the same resentment/jealousy. She's not supposed to take advantage of opportunities? She's to blame personally for catching the zeitgeist?
Friday question: In this NY Times article from 1993 http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/09/arts/television-why-cheers-proved-so-intoxicating.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1 Les Charles suggests that instead of 2 iterations of CHEERS, there was actually 3, with the Rebecca era sub-divided into 2, with the first half being character comedy and the second half being slapstick comedy. Do you agree with this assessment? Also do you have any more details about the plan to have Sam get married to someone other than Diane or Rebecca - sounds like an episode was filmed but never aired?
Just an FYI, but that final image is THE image that shows up in the article as displayed by Feedly, the RSS reader. It's the only image and it is shown before the article. I have no idea if that's something within your control through tweaking your RSS feed, or not, but thought you'd like to know.
And, no, the image didn't offend me, but it did surprise me as it isn't reflective of what I normally see on your blog. "Oh, Ken is reviewing porn now? This should be fun!"
We've all done things at the kitchen sink we're not proud of.
That fact that it got a reaction from me (that it was Brian's daughter rather than an unknown actress) shows that network news is not dead.
Give Lena credit.
She managed to accuse someone of rape in her 'autobiography', and then when its exposed that she either lied or simply exaggerated the story, she had people defending her with this response, "Well it COULD have happened even if it didn't". And she didn't even apologize (though she is now being sued).
She seems to be a gifted con-artist and showman (show-woman?). But let's not ever give her the benefit of a doubt.
Maybe her connection with Brian Williams is why their news dept didn't delve deeper into that story.
Interesting personage. Probably why no one is willing to watch her.
@Scooter Schechtman said...
We've all done things at the kitchen sink we're not proud of.
Gives new meaning to being a plumber and unclogging the drain.
I'm "on the beach" right now so generally going to my local library to use their wireless [well, "my" wireless since my tax dollars support them]to save some money. Imagine my surprise when I tried logging on to your site and the had it blocked. They also have other sites blocked that I KNOW aren't porn sites. Makes me want to contact the ACLU and file a first amendment lawsuit. Immediately left and sprung what little money I have to buy a broadband card so I could at least get your site.
Don't have cable but the few clips of "Girls" that I have seen didn't make me laugh at all and sure didn't want to make me cough up cash to pay for it.....which is probably what HBO is hoping people will do.
680,000 is less than some YouTube channels get. I've been constantly amazed at how many subscribers (and viewers) some of these channels get on YouTube.
Overheard a water cooler discussion between a couple of female co-workers about the show and that scene in particular. One of the women found it disgusting while the other found it "incredibly empowering." I'm not sure what's "incredibly empowering" about it, but maybe that's just me.
Unknown: my understanding is that Matthau wanted to change up and play Felix and was told, essentially, to have fun on his own time.
wg
Lemmon and Matthau were on Merv Griffin doing a "Couple" scene, and Matthau got all the laughs. They then switched roles - and Matthau got all the laughs.
For what it's worth, it feels like there's been far less hype about Dunham /Girls this season. Each of the last three Januaries it was like every damn thing on the entire Internet was about her and her show, which was annoying, since I have no interest in either.
Logout? Did I login?
ACTOR: "So, I'm here to audition for GIRLS."
CASTING DIRECTOR: "We'll need you to do some brown nosing."
ACTOR: "You mean like telling you how much I love the show?"
CASTING DIRECTOR: "Um, no."
Hey Ken,
This post falls into my "Why are they Famous?" category. Lena Dunham is a founding member.
Along with Ashton Kutcher, Kim K., Tara Reid, Mario Lopez, Kevin Hart, Kathy Griffin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Heigl, pretty much the entire cast of Entourage, you get the point- no talent.
WHY ARE YOU FAMOUS???!!!
--LL
Ken, the title of this post alone makes this the blogpost of the year so far.
Regarding "Unknown" and his comment about Mark Evanier--I have no idea if it is true that Lemmon & Matthau switched roles but I think Evanier is usually right about this stuff.
However, the fist fight Mark said he would have with Ken was actually over Ken's absurd assertion that Klugman & Randall were better as Oscar & Felix that Mathau & Lemmon. This is such a horrific opinion for Ken to hold that it actually makes me question if I could have laughed at any of his jokes.
No, although I frequently disagree with Evanier, he's dead right about this. As it happens, I've known Mark since he was in high school and the very first time I saw the Odd Couple movie, he was sitting right next to me and it was at his insistence we see what he was calling the funniest movie he'd ever seen. Damn if he wasn't right.
680,000 viewers. After the disaster of The Comeback 2 (which barely broke 200k viewers) I'm sure they love those numbers.
Damn, even Lindsay lohan's show on OWN got more viewers.
Pretty sure this was appropriated from a subplot on a "South Park" episode with Butters and Cartman
I've become puzzled with America's fascination with skanks. I American's tend to work off of the premise, "oh my god, she's turned into a righteous skank!" and carry on forever after regarding what might have finally made the woman crack, and embrace skankhood.
The fact is, these women were skanks long before showing it off on whatever show they're on. So being surprised at Allison Williams getting her ass chunks hoovered on national tv shouldn't raise an eyebrow.
Also, being a righteous skank isn't a lifestyle choice that empowers women. Indeed, studies show that nose plowing buttcheeks is one of the most popular avenues of transit for e coli infection, hepatitis, and a score of other STD's, so Allison Williams is empowering the bottom line of free clinics across America, which has little to do with empowering women.
Hence the nomenclature of "skank." It's not a term employed to disempower women. It's a term employed to help men make the right decision regarding the potential outcome of having sexual relations with women who enjoy the designation of "skank."
To depict a "skank" as a heroic figure is a sad fantasy of people who enjoy the skank lifestyle, but prefer to dismiss the clinical ramifications.
Don't be like Allison Williams. Keep your face out of people's butts. Keep your butt out of people's faces. Irrefutable studies show you'll live a longer and happier life.
Pat Reeder, could you be more bitter?
Seriously, Pat, get some therapy...
And Ken, while like you I'm not a fan of the show, there is the faint whiff of sour grapes here...
Allison Williams is branching out.
Her dad just has a nose for news.
I was trying hard to find that video. I found it with a lot of struggle, and it sure as hell wasn't on YouTube. Methinks you sir are making a mountain out of a mound.
I am slightly over the age demographic for this show (early 40's). I watched the first season of the show every week on Sunday. It was interesting in that I had been told it was funny, I was told that I should be laughing, I was told that it was cutting-edge comedy. And while I found a few things moderately funny more often than not I found myself in a perpetual state of wanting - wanting to laugh, wanting to be entertained, wanting to agree that this show was actually good. I think more than anything else the reason people are angry with the show (and its supporters in the media) is that they are tired of being told something is funny when they themselves have watched and are not laughing. And then we are made to feel that the problem is us and not them, that we just don't 'get it,' that we do not understand modern or cutting-edge comedy. And while I do not have a post-doctorate in comedy I still do not appreciate feeling looked down upon because I find nothing funny with Girls. Frankly, they are simply condescending a-holes (and apparently a-hole eaters).
If nothing else, the show is proving to be a Rorshach Test, bringing out petty jealousies, resentments, insecurities in its critics.
I don't think it's always sour grapes to be puzzled, or even disgusted or pissed, at the success of something in which one finds no merit.
Look at how most people discuss the Kardashians, and rightfully so.
I like Girls, but I don't subscribe to HBO, so I wait to watch on DVD. So I won't see Season 4 for awhile. I did recently watch Season 3. I think it helps to be a woman - seems like most of the people who express dislike for the show are men. I enjoy the characters and find them funny. Hannah's reaction when she finds out that Jessa could have flown to NYC from rehab, after the awful road trip with Adam and Shosh, is priceless, and very funny to me. The way Hannah then goes from anger to admitting how much she missed her is wonderful. The nudity, the sex scenes, I could do without, but that's true of most of what is being made these days.
Oddly, Allison's dad was fine with it but her dog disapproved.
I didn't see the show, but is it possible, just possible, that she was having some kind of an issue with a suppository? 'Cause that expression on her face makes it look like she's really straining. And maybe her next door neighbor is a gastroenterologist who ran out of the shower to help her because she was in distress?
No?
I really can never watch Brian Williams again without thinking about this picture. This is what he gets for hosting SNL.
She is now making the claim that she used a pseudonym for the rapist that just happened to be the same name as someone at her college. However, she didn't just give a name, she wrote it was a college Republican. And the leading college Republican just happened to be named Barry. Then the other details she gives matches someone else who was not a college Republican. So we are left to conclude that either, she made up all the details in a deliberate attempt to make two people look bad, or she made up the part about the college Republican so make that guy look like a rapist and go with her political activism, or she made up the part about the local radio host to make that guy look like a rapist.
Charles Bryan,
There's a HUGE difference between Dunham and the Kardashians, and I think you know that.
And I don't mean just ass size...
News anchors are so competitive.
I bet Brian Williams put his daughter up to this just to steal Katie Couric's rectal exam issue.
It's true what they say.
Hindsight is perfect.
She was a cheeky Peter Pan.
Look, doing a scene like this, especially after her role as Peter Pan, seems to suggest that Allison Williams has one objective--to be noticed. And she's succeeded.
It's interesting that no one seems to mention--or even know the name--of the actor who shared the scene with her.
Allison has made a huge deal of letting the press know that she wasn't actually naked. Her butt was conveniently padded, protected and flavored.
Yeah, so much for selling the story. So much for art.
Years from now... or maybe only months from now, who knows... I suspect we'll be wondering why we ever were drawn to this drivel in the first place. I only hope Allison feels the same way.
So the girl-on-girl thing is happening?
Though it's not fair to saddle Allison Williams with my issues, I still feel the need to share an anecdote:
The other day, I viewed the episode in question. When it concluded, I went to my kitchen to make myself a snack.
Laying my toast out on a dinner plate, I reached up into my cupboard, and retrieved a jar of Peter Pan Super Chunk with Chocolate Swirls.
I won't bore readers with the following moral and existential dialectic that exploded into my consciousness, butt I will say it brought into question everything I had earlier believed to be unquestionable.
I threw the jar in the waste can.
I didn't have a snack that night, and it doesn't bother me.
So Anony, what you're saying is the show Girls is good for dieters.
Rob Said:
"So Anony, what you're saying is the show Girls is good for dieters."
That's exactly what I was getting at. That and the anxiety of having a childhood icon irreparably tarnished by seeing an actor who played him get her ass hedgehogged by one of the Lost Boys.
Thanks for the feedback, Rob. Sometimes I wonder if I get through to people. I'm always trying to improve.
If Ken and other posters here have all been the sad recipients of someone rubbing their nose between their cheeks, instead of rimming them properly, that would explain the disdain.
Love the blog Ken. Great insights as always, but was that photo really necessary? I feel like my eyeballs need a bath. I know you gave us a warning but your article was lengthy and as I scrolled down to keep reading I saw the photo before I got to the warning, making it kinda useless. Call me a prude but that was just...yuck! *shiver*
"Miss Williams, one this size is definitely for the medical books. A prolapse Grade IV himmoirrhoid."
This is was Episode 33.
One more in the can.
I hope that scene wasn't filmed after lunch from Taco Bell.
Evanier wins by sheer size and passion (for the matter being debated.)
Also, it's a matter of time before all of cable goes hardcore and porn goes mainstream. The Simpson's joke about Fox turning into a hardcore adult channel seems prescient now.
Maybe the guy just liked her "dairy-air"
All I can say is I am so happy that Allison is not my daughter.
People didn't get so upset about Kathleen Turner's character in Dumb and Dumber To being called Freda Felcher. As someone who's no prude and doesn't shock easily, the definition of felching grossed me the fuck out. But it makes for a funny character name.
Wayne said...
"I hope that scene wasn't filmed after lunch from Taco Bell."
Interesting you should say that, since the activity Ms. Williams so passionately engaged in has been frequently euphemized as "grabbing lunch at the Taco Bell."
I take issue with Ms. Williams' well known father's reaction, stating that "no animals were harmed during the filming of that episode." This is an unfortunate assumption to make, ass any committed anal adventurer will tell you, if you buy him/her a couple of drinks.
I don't think I'm telling any tails out of school when I mention a term that is well known amongst butt safarists. That term is... "roadkill."
It is a reference to... things found on the "highway" that... didn't make it across.
To learn more, I direct you to the PETA website. There you will find a section devoted to certain australian rodents, who have through no fault of their own, become america's "illegal immigrants" in the most wretched sense of the term. I must warn you ahead of time... you might not like what you see.
You know, I've decided that one of the things this blog does best is demonstrate why most people aren't comedy writers and have to make do with posting bad jokes as comments on a real comedy writer's blog. I don't think I've ever seen this many lame attempts at humor gathered into one place in my life. Sheesh.
@Dixon Steele - No, I didn't intend to compare Dunham to the Kardashians. I intended to focus on the possibility that someone can negatively react to someone's success without wanting to secretly emulate it.
My many internet butt shots notwithstanding.
I'm not a huge fan of Dunham, but I think she's done incredibly well for herself, and is clearly very talented.
I especially disagreed with this:
"For many, this was not a body they wanted to see. But Lena understood that even leaving herself open to a barrage of criticism and snark was a small price to pay for the publicity."
Her point was very clearly to rise above the idea that women should be made to feel bad about their bodies, and attacking her for that, well, it just seems like you're joining in.
You may be right that she's a publicity genius, and I can't argue that she's making a great point with the "smell my heiny" scene, but without evidence, and ignoring the things she has achieved, it's easy to just come across as sounding bitter.
There are a lot of bodies -- both female and male -- that I have no desire to see, Lena Dunham's among them. (I imagine most people would slot me into the same category.) Why is it being a bad person or attacking her for being honest enough to say it?
Anita said...
"You know, I've decided that one of the things this blog does best is demonstrate why most people aren't comedy writers and have to make do with posting bad jokes as comments on a real comedy writer's blog. I don't think I've ever seen this many lame attempts at humor gathered into one place in my life. Sheesh."
Thanks for showing us how to do it right, Anita. Especially that tag at the end where you say "sheesh." Even I wasn't expecting that, and I've seen some comedy in my day.
Johnny Walker:
"Her point was very clearly to rise above the idea that women should be made to feel bad about their bodies, and attacking her for that, well, it just seems like you're joining in."
Women who are trying to bring in viewers by showing us their massive asses when it's not intended as a comedic device are in for a world of butthurt. I'm sick of women as a group cashing in on their sex appeal, then bitching when they can't because of being fat or ugly.
This is show business, Johnny, not a personal power retreat, much as that must disappoint you.
For the love of fat chick's asses, get over yourself, my friend.
Linda R: Well, for a start, it's a guy saying it, we men have a long history of objectifying women. Removing their personality and thinking about them as objects for our edification. By complaining that her body is ugly it sounds very similar to that way of thinking, and it way it seems like you're implying that it's only there for titillation: If I don't find it titillating, then it should be hidden away. Well, maybe the nudity is not about the titillation of viewers for a change, not about objectifying a woman. Unfortunately this attitude so ingrained in US film and TV culture, that it's hard to imagine it being different -- especially on a network like HBO which sells itself on the quality of its shows, but at the same time apparently has "young female nudity" quotas to hit.
In the America there's two times you see nudity: For comedic shock (ugly bodies) or for titillation (let's be honest, men's titillation).
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with enjoying a beautiful body, as a man or a woman, but why is nudity only ever in the above two situations?
In other countries nudity isn't always there for comedic shock or for titillation: It's sometimes there because the character is doing something that requires them to be naked, and I'm pretty sure that's what Lena Dunham was going for here -- not, as Anonymous suggested, attempting to cash in on her "sex appeal" and then getting upset when people (in America) complained she wasn't their idea of sexy. She's never complained about such things, and if you listen to her in interviews, she clearly knew what she was doing.
Kathy Cronkite did play at least one controversial role, that of a Patty Hearst-style domestic terrorist in the one and only NETWORK (1976).
...and the Always a Politically Correct Opinion Award goes to...Johnny Walker!
If that was really all Lena was trying to do, Johnny, I would agree with you, but I suspect that she also knew her getting naked would generate a great deal of buzz for the series. Generating buzz is something she's very good at. I cannot agree that her motives were pure when she was playing right into the attitudes that you're lambasting the rest of us for expressing.
Don't know what the huge damn deal is. Now show me a youtube clip of Anson Williams getting motorboated...
Thanks Mischa... What do I win?
Concrete evidence of how to get into show business.
Late to the party on this one, but who cares about the girl in that scene, I felt bad for the poor guy!
HBO had rimming scenes in both True Detective and Looking, but of course only Girls causes people to get their panties in a wad.
"I found one version where someone overdubbed her singing from PETER PAN during her proctology porn and it was hilarious."
Sorry I've been absent and am thus late to this, but here is that mash-up video that you're so fond of:
http://www.viddler.com/mini/4dad7883
You're welcome.
Cheerio,
Jeffro
PS: Keep up the good work you're doing on TCM!
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