tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6832968925768603475..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Is it just me?By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71760097963179461992019-03-18T04:24:30.620-07:002019-03-18T04:24:30.620-07:00Hi Ken --
First of all, thank you for this blog. ...Hi Ken --<br /><br />First of all, thank you for this blog. I've only recently discovered it, and I'm hooked.<br /><br />Also, yes I'm about 2 years late to the party commenting on this post, but you hit a nerve for me. The other day I was working out why some sitcoms were perennial favorites of mine and other people -- MASH, Frasier, Golden Girls, Friends, The Andy Griffith Show, etc.<br /><br />The qualities that they all had were:<br /><br />- good writing<br />- funny and witty (not just easy laughs)<br />- loyalty between characters<br />- one or more characters are worthy of respect, even with flaws<br />- solid, caring relationships<br />- ultimately good people who do the right thing.<br /><br />On the shows I like, the characters were very clear that sleeping with anyone married was off limits. When it happened with BJ once, I was disappointed even though I understood the conditions that brought it about.<br /><br />So "edgy" is not for me and -- judging by the success of these kinds of shows versus the shows that are here today, gone tomorrow -- I think a majority of people are also uncomfortable with edgy. And who would want to watch it over & over again in syndication?Beth Thompsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69049309755175439322017-11-17T19:03:00.180-08:002017-11-17T19:03:00.180-08:00I can relate to Brie. I was the other woman. It...I can relate to Brie. I was the other woman. It's beyond my own understanding, but a lesson in humility. We all want to be heroes/winners and a force for good and have a good life when we are young. I know I longed for order and purity and all of the richness that a godly life provides. No child wants to grow up and be hated or evil (whore, pimp, addict, prostitute, drug dealers, murderers, adulterers, home-wrecker, wife beater, thief, etc.). A desire for goodness is innate, but free will is a dangerous thing in the hands of a fool and satan comes as an angel of light.. Looking back at the dysfunction/sin that surrounded me and is in all of us, I can only bow my head and thank the God who loves losers and why I love losers, because I was/am one. A wretch saved by love. I boast of nothing, but Christ crucified. It's all Him. He died for losers. "It's a Wonderful Life" was a dream. Not in my world, or most peoples.<br />Signed,<br />Anonymous (to protect those I have brought pain upon, who will someday know how sorrow and tears for what I have done follow me and how sorry I am. Please forgive me!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87786357451622234412017-11-13T07:10:59.742-08:002017-11-13T07:10:59.742-08:00If you'll indulge me some addenda and a respon...If you'll indulge me some addenda and a response to Scott Rosenberg…<br /><br />I misstated my case when I wrote I didn't care what happens to Ruth. I do care, and I would like to see her both forgiven AND redeemed, but I am not demanding that. Mad Men was mentioned a few times earlier and that's a good reference point. I gave up on Mad Men in Season five(?), when Don was having an affair with the upstairs neighbour. Wifey and I both decided we were;t up for *yet another* season of Don degrading himself and dragging down everyone around him *because we'd seen it before*. Ruth is on her first pass through the valley of I-Fscked-Up and I'm on board for seeing how she, and the other parties handle it.<br /><br />The woman focus of glow is refreshing. More than refreshing, actually, it's revelatory. I have never seen a scene like the opening of Ep 8 in the locker room when they start throwing sanitary products around. It's so simple, and natural-seeming but I've never seen anything like it (and nobody said 'vagina'). (and Ruth's distance from their bonhomie (bonfemie?) telegraphs her pregnancy brilliantly - this is what I meant about it being inevitable 'Why isn't she bonding with the girls about their... ohhhh, of *course* she's pregnant). There's plenty more scenes like that, and ones that go way further than saying 'vagina', but theythey explicitly serve a character or story point and aren't running 'jokes'<br /><br />Scott Rosenberg -"Brie as the natural leader/rally monkey and her bestie with the legitimate acting resume"<br />I see Brie's 'natural leadership' as one of her annoying traits. She has skills but can't apply them effectively, because she's annoying. *Except* (and I think this is a bit genius) when the business of performance is at hand. She can't audition, she can't really take direction because of her self-obsession, but she is entirely unselfconscious chewing scenery as a Russian, and knows how a production works (when she and Debbie both yell 'places' (or some such) it's a tiny moment of awesome. (Like that *brilliant* bit where Ruth and Sam are checking out the potential venue and she pushes him to explain how he'll shoot it and we get that great swooping camera movement as he explains it and we suddenly realise "oh! he *actually* knows what he's talking about)<br /><br />I'm going to have to rewatch it now.<br /><br />dmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16212045682157801834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55600737579582442352017-11-12T19:53:21.844-08:002017-11-12T19:53:21.844-08:00Oh yay! a Glow discussion!
Disclosure up front: I...Oh yay! a Glow discussion!<br /><br />Disclosure up front: I *really* enjoyed GLOW to the point I thought episodes 7 & 8 were two of the best episodes of TV I've ever seen. Ep 8 because it was so beautifully inevitable, the story unfolded like clockwork. Is there an award for 'Best use of "Theme from Exodus" in a series'?<br /><br />I would not describe 'Glow' as a comedy, although maybe my categorisation is skewed by the prominence of 'situation comedies' and 'sketch comedies'. I dislike the world 'dramady', but GLOW is a drama with humour, and lots of it.<br /><br />Your focus on Ruth's likability struck me a little odd - I'm rooting for the ensemble and don;t particularly care what happens to Ruth. It's nice to know (in a Brechtian sense) that she's staying in the ensemble, but I think of her in terms of her relationships with the other characters, rather than 'this is a show about Ruth'.<br />Ruth is not a likeable character out the gate. She's got every stereotypical bad quality an actor can have and is completely self-obsessed to the point she sleeps with her best friend's husband. Her growth is the foundation for the story, and the antagonism with Debbie is the front-line tension. I think it's a clever choice because it keeps Debbie's personal and professional life in the conflict, with both a need to resolve it and solid reasons for not resolving it. (I think her self-obsession is the key to her relationship with wolfgirl, but that's just occurred to me now...)<br /><br />The dilemma this approach has, though, and what I think you've put your finger on is "how to you keep Ruth from being so unlikeable that people turn the show off" and the answer (as you allude) is "Alison Brie" who is *so* likeable we have to work a bit too hard to keep Ruth in focus. I think the writers are maybe trying to have their cake and eat it too. On the other hand, when Ruth is called out for being a home wrecker, or when Debbie rebuffs her gestures, It feels appropriate and reminds us that she has;t done nearly enough to earn any redemption.<br /><br />Gee, I loved this show<br /><br />dDaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31876466954304300762017-11-12T08:27:43.507-08:002017-11-12T08:27:43.507-08:00While I certainly won't begrudge you dismissin...While I certainly won't begrudge you dismissing a character who bangs her best friend's husband, I have to admit being a little surprised that, as someone who teaches people how to write and structure episodic television, you aren't more appreciative of how important the affair is to the show. Or maybe you do and just don't feel the execution was there, which is a fair opinion.<br /><br />I thought it all worked. GLOW was one of the best things I've seen all year. I think the start of any further breakdown has to be first, that this is a half hour drama through-and through, even if the subject matter gets silly. It is rather explicitly a show without heroes, but still generates loads of pathos by believing that this collection of deeply flawed individuals and misfits, with nothing remarkable to their credit, still deserve to have something good in their lives, if they were willing to work for it together, even if that thing is a curious syndicated wrestling show that at it's best will let these folks pay their rent. That the show is able to generate such an affirmational, hopeful quality over something so objectively silly is it's writer's greatest achievement.<br /><br />To make that work, both Brie as the natural leader/rally monkey and her bestie with the legitimate acting resume needed to be knocked down a peg. The cheating accomplishes that, and as a matter of mechanics, is a driver of the plot and stakes beyond where you stopped watching.<br /><br />I thought we were clearly meant to understand that Brie's character, a struggling actress with a crappy apartment and no money for rent, no love life, was in such a sorry state that when her friend's schlubby husband propositioned her in his members only jacket, she didn't say no, because she just needed to have something - anything - good in her life, for a few minutes. My reaction was more in line with the setup than yours; but as with anything Netflix, the writers really don't know if it generally succeeded or failed until it's all inn the can. Scott Rosenbergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6192792271830962042017-11-10T08:16:08.535-08:002017-11-10T08:16:08.535-08:00I'm really surprised that people think Alison&...I'm really surprised that people think Alison's character in GLOW didn't know the guy she slept with was her friend's husband. How many of you don't know your best friend's spouse (or at least what he or she looks like)?<br /><br />The emotion in the car when she sees the picture was guilt, not shock.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure their pre-coital dialogue made it clear that she knew who he was, even if it was played a little coy for the reveal to the audience later.<br /><br />And, FWIW, I enjoyed the show, but I can't say I was rooting particularly for Alison (or the cheating husband, obviously).Helinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77500621134541357002017-11-08T07:19:01.761-08:002017-11-08T07:19:01.761-08:00Interesting that people on here are blaming Alison...Interesting that people on here are blaming Alison's character for "ruining the marriage" and not the cheating husband...TimWarphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14741882160865926550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62865670060178375822017-11-08T04:51:54.420-08:002017-11-08T04:51:54.420-08:00The question most people seem to be answering is d...The question most people seem to be answering is do you need a protagonist you can root for in a comedy, and the overwhelming answer seems to be yes, which would be my answer. <br />I don't understand Aaron Sheckley's rant. I agree with many things he said, but I didn't think anyone was disputing the need to acknowledge the diversity of people. What has that got to do with a sympathetic lead in a comedy? Who thinks a gay person or African American can't be sympathetic?Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28122725599575781562017-11-07T15:43:03.500-08:002017-11-07T15:43:03.500-08:00The comparison of Alison Brie's GLOW character...The comparison of Alison Brie's GLOW character, and defining action of sleeping with her best friend's husband, to the well known anti-heroes from Soprano's, Breaking Bad, etc., makes me think of a Quentin Tarantino quote that I once heard: (like him or hate him, I think the quote is valid): "If someone gets a paper cut on a movie set, I'm like shivers, because I can relate to that. Being shot with an Uzi - that's harder to relate to." <br /><br />Anti-heroes that work are usually so heinous that their actions don't register with those of us who aren't involved with Cosa Nostra violence, Meth dealing and murder, etc. Cheating on a loved one is far more personal, and easier to imagine happening to ourselves. Maybe that's why Alison Brie's character is harder to like; because it's easier to imagine it happening to you. It's the paper cut vs. the Uzi. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16943029391788228536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81384530645267168062017-11-07T10:51:02.437-08:002017-11-07T10:51:02.437-08:00This is exactly why I couldn't continue watchi...This is exactly why I couldn't continue watching the pilot. Screw her. Why am I watching a show about some snobby actress who fucks her best friend's husband and ruins her marriage? That's funny? Look at what a screw up she is doing horrible things as she learns to wrestle. Hooray?Anthony Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17758930176176483080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-891078069905178822017-11-07T09:23:26.619-08:002017-11-07T09:23:26.619-08:00@Aaron Sheckley: Preach, brother, preach. Or siste...@Aaron Sheckley: Preach, brother, preach. Or sister. We are not judgemental about your life choices here.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88788654492888614812017-11-07T04:20:39.499-08:002017-11-07T04:20:39.499-08:00Reading these comments makes me want to stand on e...Reading these comments makes me want to stand on everyone's lawn and not get off. Sheesh.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15041563386485607744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33949904481602138502017-11-06T20:43:15.114-08:002017-11-06T20:43:15.114-08:00This is completely unrelated to Glow (which I enjo...This is completely unrelated to Glow (which I enjoyed but wouldn't necessarily call it an all out comedy), but I thought it might be a good Friday question. <br /><br />I'm watching the MASH episode "Point of View" right now and I was wondering if the way it was shot required the construction of any additional sets (e.g. putting walls where the 4th wall would normally be) or was it all done with camera angles?Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17540162876296654215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79775299502036179932017-11-06T20:21:05.292-08:002017-11-06T20:21:05.292-08:00One thing Seinfeld had going in its favor: They ke...One thing Seinfeld had going in its favor: They kept ramping up the absurdity of both the stories and the characters to the point that, by Season 3 (when people actually started watching) it basically existed in a heightened reality. Watch any of the actors who guested on Seinfeld and compare their performances to anything they've done on any other show. It's like they've all had eight lattes. It's hard to hate characters for their vile behavior when they're already human cartoons.Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76338448729727167272017-11-06T19:12:17.341-08:002017-11-06T19:12:17.341-08:00I liked Glow and thought that it was perfectly cle...I liked Glow and thought that it was perfectly clear that Brie did not know she was sleeping with her best friend's husband.Bob S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11017010994860310976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49380195729351181762017-11-06T19:04:51.067-08:002017-11-06T19:04:51.067-08:00"Seinfeld" didn't work for me until ..."Seinfeld" didn't work for me until -- a couple seasons into the run -- I realized that we weren't <i>supposed</i> to find any of the characters particularly likeable. (I learned this from an interview I read with one of the principals).Todd Everettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7496214426348936992017-11-06T18:32:30.846-08:002017-11-06T18:32:30.846-08:00Same ridiculous mistake was made on Michael J Fox&...Same ridiculous mistake was made on Michael J Fox's show. The guy has Parkinson's, as does his character, and the writers decide–and the producers okay–M's horney neighbor ( played by his real wife) devoted to fucking him, making it very clear to M, who is playing around with the idea. <br /><br />I didn’t give one fuck about M's character after that.<br /><br />He’s getting flirty with a spent-out next door neighbor, while his wife deals with his Parkinson’s every flipping day? And what brand of whack case decides she must have a married man with Parkinson’s disease for a sport fuck? And what kind of man would be attracted to a woman like that?<br /><br />And after all this, why in God’s name would I care about the shakey little fuck?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31208581722328792662017-11-06T17:30:00.124-08:002017-11-06T17:30:00.124-08:007 year old GoT Spoiler Alert...
Jamie Lanniste...7 year old GoT Spoiler Alert...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Jamie Lannister pushed a 10 year old boy out a window while having twincest and now he is a fan favorite. All it took was him losing a hand and the revelation he saved half a million people from burning to death.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11777496001166356949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85599649776727003082017-11-06T17:28:38.361-08:002017-11-06T17:28:38.361-08:00Though i'm echoing many other posts...
GLOW is...Though i'm echoing many other posts...<br />GLOW is a comedy???<br />GLOW as a comedy? Nah.<br />Just another show where we watch a bunch of folks try to survive with or without morals.ChipOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26793374201898079762017-11-06T17:28:32.514-08:002017-11-06T17:28:32.514-08:00I don't think GLOW was particularly funny, but...I don't think GLOW was particularly funny, but it had nothing to do with character flaws. It had to do with the subject matter. It was stupid. I only watched it because Maron entertains me. But I also think Stranger Things is derivative nonsensical BS. No one seems to agree with me on that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77018181734616113062017-11-06T17:10:21.094-08:002017-11-06T17:10:21.094-08:00Buffoonery to a point I will allow unless it becom...Buffoonery to a point I will allow unless it becomes a point of asking "Is he just two floors short of an elevator?"<br />Break some of the rules, but don't make me question what point the writer(s) trying to make. Are you pushing an agenda or are you trying to put a twist on something common just to make up for the lack of a good idea?<br />Slapstick is fine, but don't turn it into a carnival sideshow.<br />Don't do the obvious in comedy (as was discussed in this blog a couple months ago). It's cheap and will lose me quickly. I look for intelligence and uniqueness in comedy as in drama.<br />Surprise me. Do something unexpected but, again, don't make it happen every 5 minutes. Rarity is still a gift.Brad Aplinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823802067857735916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52897500760324489752017-11-06T16:58:25.929-08:002017-11-06T16:58:25.929-08:00I haven't watched GLOW and probably won't ...I haven't watched GLOW and probably won't ever do so. I'm enjoying Stranger Things and Cheers reruns, though. Ralph C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12488657064245017543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57525104407379312632017-11-06T16:09:28.588-08:002017-11-06T16:09:28.588-08:00Good Lord, we've had 70 years of TV shows that...Good Lord, we've had 70 years of TV shows that celebrate the "Traditional American Family and their Values", which in many ways translates to the trials and tribulations of sanitized white suburbia. If that's the default setting for "normal", then fine. But if you feel disenfranchised because television shows seem to be focused lately on people who don't match your definition of normal, then think of it as a sort of TV parity. For a lot more years than we should be comfortable with, black people, Native Americans, LBGTQ people, women, etc all had to watch TV shows that seemed to take no notice that they existed, or had any interest in portraying what life was like for them. Imagine that kid on the Rez watching endless cowboy shows and wondering why the hell all those white guys on the screen were calling themselves Indians, and why he never got to see any real Native Americans who looked like him. Imagine a black kid in Greensboro, NC in 1966, watching Andy Griffith and wondering why the hell there weren't any black people in a small town in freaking North Carolina? And the only black people he ever saw seemed to be either criminals or portrayed as some sort of a Noble Savage? Or being a gay man in 1970's America, and knowing that the only time you were going to see another gay guy on the tube was when they were portrayed for comic relief? Now, I get why someone who grew up in the time and place that I did might watch current TV and be uncomfortable that it no longer seemed focused on the Caucasian, straight, Christian American nuclear family of Mom, Dad, 2.5 kids and the dog; there are certainly a lot of modern programs that I have no interest in seeing. But I AM glad that they're being made. It's not "politically correct" to make a TV show that reflects the experiences of people who aren't like you, and have experiences that are different than yours. If someone feels that current TV is a symptom of the decline of western civilization because Lucy is no longer standing in her living room going "Waaaaah, Rickeeeee", then take heart; there are about a zillion hours of nostalgia programming on line where you can steep yourself in the lore of bygone America. The words "politically correct" seems to have come to mean, "I think it's wrong that anything is portrayed on television that doesn't reflect my personal experiences".Aaron Sheckleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4495577109431109762017-11-06T15:47:41.869-08:002017-11-06T15:47:41.869-08:00I watched three episodes and gave up. It just didn...I watched three episodes and gave up. It just didn't catch my interest. I love Allison Brie, but this show couldn't hold my attention. I really wanted to like it too.<br />I think this one is a miss.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6191139731661728392017-11-06T15:26:12.554-08:002017-11-06T15:26:12.554-08:00What makes me turn on a character? Cruelty to an ...What makes me turn on a character? Cruelty to an animal. Example: when <i>Mad Men</i>'s Duck Phillips abandoned his dog on the streets of Manhattan because Duck thought the dog disapproved of his drinking. In the endless online arguments that followed this episode, there were dopes whose answer was "It was acting. No dog actually got abandoned." That wasn't the point, of course, but they <i>were </i>dopes.thirteennoreply@blogger.com