And it was a helluva series. I was in New York on Sunday night so sat up until 2 AM watching that incredible 13-12 game. I must be more of a baseball fan than Dodger fan because when it was over I was disappointed that the Bums lost but my overall reaction was “what a great game!”
John Smoltz did an MVP job as analyst.
Dodger Stadium is now empty, except for Larry King who is still sitting there.
Are the Astros the only team to be in the World Series for both leagues?
You want to speed up baseball games? Cut out catchers and infielders going to the mound. You’ll eliminate an hour.
At least the Dodgers didn’t lose to the Yankees.
And Kate Upton is happy which, really, isn’t that all that matters?
CBS is already juggling it’s Monday night comedy line-up. ME, MYSELF, & I is being yanked (I suspect never to return) and MAN WITH A PLAN returns. ME, MYSELF, & I is the show about Bobby Moynihan at three stages of his life. The middle-aged “Bobby” is played by John Larroquette. So we’re supposed to believe that when Moynihan gets older he also gets 8” taller.
What? Kevin Spacey is gay? That’s maybe the worst kept secret in Hollywood.
Netflix immediately cancelled HOUSE OF CARDS. We can’t have a sexual predator playing a US President on TV, but we can have a real one actually in office.
Kevin said he will “seek evaluation and treatment” – for this problem he was blissfully happy to live with until last week when he was caught.
So when these assholes are accused of sexual harassment or worse and they vehemently deny it, who do you believe? Them of the seventeen independent victims for each one?
Whenever anyone in Hollywood reacts to a piece of news by saying “I’m SHOCKED” they knew it all along.
First come the accusations, then the denials, then Gloria Allred, then more accusers, then the lawsuits, more Gloria Allred, then the apology, then the rehab, then the next big scandal, then Gloria Allred.
And finally, Happy Birthday to my son Matt. You’re a wonderful son and now a wonderful father. I love you. Sorry about the Red Sox. Believe me, I know how you feel.
FRIDAY QUESTION:
ReplyDeleteA technical question: when MASH filmed at the Ranch location, often times there would be smoke coming from many of the tent and Hospital stovepipes. I'm guessing there weren't stoves in these tents and buildings, so how was the smoke generated?
Just read that Dustin Hoffman has fallen out of the Hollywood Predators' Pinata. So, when these guys claim they don't recall the incidents they're outed for, doesn't that speak volumes about how often they must have behaved badly? I mean, if I ran someone over with my car once, I would remember that. But if I hit people on a weekly basis over 20 years, it would be like trying to recall a specific hiccup from 1989.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to hear what you knew about these "open secrets"
ReplyDeleteAnd now Brett Ratner can be added to the list. He denies the allegations, but I believe Olivia Munn. She's an established actress and has no reason to lie. The interesting thing is that what she alleges Ratner did (jerking off in front of her in his trailer) is exactly what James Toback is alleged by over 200 women to have done, and guess who Ratner calls his best friend? Toback.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Toback probably told him what he'd been getting away with for decades and Ratner decided to follow in his buddy's sleazy footsteps.
Ratner's other best friend is Roman Polanski. What a nice group of guys!
Yes, the Astros are the only team to play in a World Series from both leagues.
ReplyDeleteWhat? The Astros played in the World Series as an NL team. That means the mothership (ESPN) would have to acknowledge the White Sox actually won the WS that year, which even after screwing up last year, they again this year failed to do.
ReplyDeleteOk, here's a question for everyone...and I don't know if there's a right and/or wrong answer.
If House of Cards is truly cancelled forever, is there a legitimate way to wrap up the series creatively, to give all the fans who are invested in the series some sense of closure? Would having Frank Underwood assassinated, for example, be too based in the reality of the real life situation to be believable?
No comment about the visible strike zone on Fox and all the pitches there called strikes and a foot off the plate. Shame!
ReplyDeleteFriday question: saw a Jason Alexander interview where he said “Seinfeld” missed with 2 obvious spinoff opportunities: the parents in Florida and the lawyer Jackie Chiles.
ReplyDelete(I disagree with both but who cares)
What spinoff talks were you ever involved in, and what makes a good spinoff idea vs a bad one?
Just a reminder that my favorite current sitcom, "Mom," begins season 5 tonight. I'll be interested to see whether its syndicated debut earlier this fall at all sorts of places -- local affiliates, TV Land, FXX, Hulu -- translates into a boost in ratings for the prime-time series as more people became aware of the show.
ReplyDelete"Dodger Stadium is now empty, except for Larry King who is still sitting there."
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this statement is that with one out in the bottom of the 9th, you could see Larry turn to whoever he was sitting next to, shrug his shoulders as if to say, "Whelp, this is over." and leave before the game even ended.
Friday question: could some of the doctor/nurse banter during MASH be considered sexual harassment today?
ReplyDeleteWould you have to be more careful writing stuff like that now?
Ken, maybe you can offer some insight...why do people dislike Joe Buck? I'm not really a "fan" (the only thing I really know about him is that he calls the World Series every year), but he knows his baseball and his voice doesn't bother me during a broadcast. Supposedly he's too "New York-centric" or whatever, and since I'm a Red Sox fan I'm not supposed to like that? What is the beef with this guy?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think, maybe two hundred people work on HOUSE OF CARDS? So let's throw them all out of work for something the star did twenty years ago.
ReplyDeleteI love corporate thinking.
Netflix is talking about a HOUSE OF CARDS spin-off, so all those crew people would still be working. But you're right. One guy's misbehavior can have a huge unfortunate ripple effect.
ReplyDeleteThat goes for any industry. When greedy bank presidents crashed their companies in the mortgage crisis, thousands of their employees who had nothing to do with those decisions lost their jobs.
DeleteWe're also supposed to believe that John Larroquette (69) and Sharon Lawrence (56) are playing the same age.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great World Series-- it really was one of those times I felt bad that one team had to lose. John Smoltz was great. He reminds me of Troy Aikman doing NFL coverage.
ReplyDeleteIn response to cd1515: The behavior of the doctors on MASH (including/especially Hawkeye) toward the nurses would absolutely be considered sexual harassment, and I don't think there's any way the show, as it originally aired, would be approved today. (For that matter, it would be criticized for having a white character named "Hawkeye" -- not to mention being based on a book and movie with an African-American character whose nickname was so racist I won't even type it here.)
ReplyDeleteThe show wouldn't get a pass for being based in the 1950s, either. In fact, I doubt "Mad Men" -- which portrayed the constant harassment and belittlement of female office workers in the 1960s in a highly critical way -- would be greenlit if it were pitched right now.
The African-American character from MASH that you mention appeared in several early episodes of the TV series and was referred to by the same nickname.
DeleteI believe Larry Gelbart said that the character was dropped when it was learned that no Black American surgeons served in the Korean War.
Timothy Brown played the role in both the movie and the series, the only actor besides Gary Burghoff to appear in both versions.
Sorry...I meant that Brown and Burghoff were the only actors from the film version of "MASH" to reprise their roles in the series.
DeleteA couple of actors from the movie, including G. Wood, did guest shots on the TV version.
Who was responsible for Rapp when he was 14 and at an adult party? Anymore, that would be a neglect charge on someone. I didn't even know who Rapp was until his name was in the same headline as Spacey's. I want some more Kevin, and really would've wanted some when he was 26.
ReplyDeleteI share the pain with everyone in Los Angeles. But it was a great series and, come on, the Astros have never won the thing. They were just a little hungrier. Congrats to them and to the Dodgers for providing great sports entertainment. But...if only Kershaw had started that last game.
ReplyDeleteI also share the pain of learning how many scumbags there are in my neighborhood. Makes me sad that so many terrific, talented people with tremendous integrity are forced to grovel to just get one of these jerks to read or consider their their work, all while the jerks are busy jerking off in hallways. Of course, none of this behavior is new or specific to showbiz.
Happy Houston, Houston!
I would take Me show over Man with a plan. MWP is typical comedy pabulum, nothing creative, just laugh tracks, insert pretty person here. Me has the hook of things spanning a lifetime (and 8"). Since he was an inventor, they would probably bring in a story line of him inventing growth pills.
ReplyDeletePardon my inner baseball geek, but for completion: yes, the Astros are the only team to appear in the World Series as a member of both leagues. So far.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't immensely likely that any other team will swap leagues, but that still leaves the Milwaukee Brewers, who were in the AL when they reached the 1982 World Series. (They lost to the Cards, a feeling we Red Sox fans know too well.)
They moved to the NL in 1998, and their best effort since then was to lose the NLCS in 2011 ... again against the Cards. I can't help but love this team.
The following question is about Kevin Spacey and House Of Cards, and is concerned with a Crass Commercial Consideration.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was already announced that Season 6 of HOC was to be the Grand Finale (if I'm wrong, correction welcomed).
So this is about the timing of the scandal - which happened more than thirty years ago.
Both Kevin Spacey and Anthony Rapp were very much at the entry levels of their respective careers.
Since then, Kevin Spacey has built up a resume filled with awards, prestige, and a string of memorable performances.
Meanwhile, Anthony Rapp is nearly fifty years of age. He has his own established, well-earned career, and commands respect within many communities.
Question: why did Rapp wait so long to talk about Spacey?
He could have disclosed the story at just about any time in the past, going back to Spacey's breakthroughs in any and all other media - and Spacey's career would have been blown up long before House Of Cards, or his Old Vic appointment, or his Oscars, or you name it.
So why just now?
I suppose that the Weinstein business might have provided incentive, but actually the same question can be asked about Harvey: why just now?
Remember a few years back, when the British press went wild over disclosures about Sir Jimmy Savile, a popular TV personality in GB well-known for his philanthropy.
Savile, who in his lifetime was knighted not only by the Queen but also by the Pope, was suddenly outed as a secret pederast; for a while, the accusations flew thick and fast.
There was one major difference: all of this came out long after Jimmy Savile's death.
Since that time, I've read of other popular British performers, whose off-camera lives were a bit more picaresque than the public would have possibly stood for - but those lives weren't revealed until after they'd passed.
This seems to be a difference between the Empire and the States - over there they wait until you're gone before they start digging up the dirt.
Over here, meantime, the Breitbarties and their ilk can't wait to dump on anybody they don't like, for whatever reason.
I'm just old enough to remember the days when Confidential magazine would content itself with simply blackmailing their targets into aiding them with getting the goods on others ...
Are we better off with the feeding frenzies of nowadays?
I wonder.
Sometimes victims are so traumatized it takes years for them to say anything, or they were scared into not saying anything. As someone who has thankfully not been a victim of this type of abuse, I will never question motives for stepping forward. (As long as it's true, unlike Duke Lacrosse.)
DeleteI couldn't resist being the guy at work this morning that said, "alright Game 7 tonight, let's go Dodgers"...I got some good looks, sometimes comedy means taking one for the team.
ReplyDeleteA couple of notes on my comment above: I'm not personally criticizing "MASH," which was rightly praised for skillfully integrating humanism and even feminism into its comedy. I'm just saying the way these issues are viewed has changed a lot in the past few years, and event the past couple of months, and a lot that was once considered acceptable no longer is -- at least by enough people for the networks to take notice. (Also, I realize that Hawkeye's name is based on a white character, but "Last of the Mohicans" itself is coming under critique for stereotyped portrayals.)
ReplyDeleteIt's a truism that comedy is hard, but I think most would agree that it's now harder than ever.
“It's a truism that comedy is hard, but I think most would agree that it's now harder than ever."
ReplyDeleteIf only it were just comedy. Everything everyone says is being policed by people who simply wish to be punitive and exert power over others. It has nothing to do with respect and fairness.
It's making life unbearable and will most definitely result in the pendulum crashing through the cabinet on the other side, Trump is Exhibit A.
ReplyDeleteKen, are you SHOCKED too about Dustin Hoffman? Harvey and the other sleazebags is one thing but here is a legend.
Brenda, Dustin Hoffman is a well known ass. Known for being extremely difficult on set, he actually slapped Meryl Streep across the face to provoke a reaction in the movie. He manipulated the boy, Justin, rather cruelly in order to get him to cry more realistically. When you are physically assaulting your co-workers, I think anything goes.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/meryl-streep-kramer-vs-kramer-oscar
Friday Question: Why is it whenever people are eating dinner on multi camera comedies its always pasta and salad? Is it because its easy to fake eat, doesnt involve more than a fork and doesnt matter if its hot or cold?
ReplyDeleteMy perfect solution to concluding the House of Cards series - keep Spacey in the role, and make his character have to face numerous allegations of sexual harassment from both sexes, followed by a court case, impeachment and jail. Typecasting, and compulsive viewing.
ReplyDeleteKevin FitzMaurice, Jones was played by Fred Williamson in the movie. (I was going to mention G. Wood, but I see you already covered that.)
ReplyDeleteI never bought the excuse that there were no black surgeons in Korea. So what? (Actually, there were black surgeons serving in the military in the '50s, according the Wikipedia, the one true source of all truth.) I think they were just consolidating their main players, focusing on Hawkeye and (to a lesser extent) Trapper, and maybe quietly sunsetting a problematically named character.
There's plenty of jokes that wouldn't fly today. (Trapper: "I've never been to a rape before." Hawkeye: "Maybe for your next birthday." Uh, what?)
Thanks, Greg. You're right.
DeleteTimothy Brown did appear in the film, but played a different character.
My apologies, especially to Mr. Williamson.
"Netflix immediately cancelled HOUSE OF CARDS. We can’t have a sexual predator playing a US President on TV, but we can have a real one actually in office."
ReplyDeleteAh yes, remembering the Clinton years. ;)
I was going to say I remember three in my lifetime, including the current occupant, but I'm not sure JFK counts as s predator. More like a horndog. But perhaps a predator. Hard to say since it was in the early 60s.
Amen on Smoltzie's performance in the booth. Finally a color man who knew what he was talking about.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think, maybe two hundred people work on HOUSE OF CARDS? So let's throw them all out of work for something the star did twenty years ago.
ReplyDeleteSo, what’s your solution? To ignore (alleged) criminal behavior by the star, just because it happened 20 years ago? Besides, more allegations about Spacey have come out, up to and including bad behavior on the set of House of Cards.
I hate this, as I have always liked Spacey’s work. But that’s irrelevant compared to justice for his (alleged) victims.