tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post3629747755154138222..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40018158393986344592016-05-12T06:02:04.916-07:002016-05-12T06:02:04.916-07:00Just wanted to note for folks that Coupling is ava...Just wanted to note for folks that Coupling is available on Hulu, in case anyone wanted to check it out. It really is a great show. mdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753439280027635271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40463635473968401262016-05-10T18:50:12.601-07:002016-05-10T18:50:12.601-07:00So I take a few days off, skip a Friday Questions,...So I take a few days off, skip a Friday Questions, and whadya know?<br /><br />Ken, thanks so much for your answer. I figured I must be missing something, some obvious "No, a US network can't run a UK sitcom, you idiot, <i>because</i>..." Apparently I wasn't. Again, thanks.Igornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87173776676286623372016-05-09T07:06:09.983-07:002016-05-09T07:06:09.983-07:00Ian Curtis
John Kennedy Toole
John Candy
Ian Curtis <br />John Kennedy Toole<br />John Candy<br />Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78482530219766196912016-05-08T21:33:59.516-07:002016-05-08T21:33:59.516-07:00Douglas Adams. Jonathan Larson. Christopher Marl...Douglas Adams. Jonathan Larson. Christopher Marlowe.Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9259150337086127362016-05-08T13:34:59.161-07:002016-05-08T13:34:59.161-07:00I can't believe no one mentioned Bob Marley. L...I can't believe no one mentioned Bob Marley. Left us at 36 and the man was a force of nature, truly one of a kind. Or John Bonham, imho rock's greatest drummer, who died at 32. And of course, John Lennon.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9613905857316091092016-05-08T02:07:54.791-07:002016-05-08T02:07:54.791-07:00Jim Croce, Robert E. Howard, and Jerry Ross.
Croc...Jim Croce, Robert E. Howard, and Jerry Ross.<br /><br />Croce has been noted.<br /><br />Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian, dead at 30.<br /><br />Jerry Ross and Richard Adler were composers who won back to back Tony Awards for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. Jerry Ross died suddenly when he was only 29. Richard Adler lived another 60 years and produced very little of consequence.CRLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65643839324898040132016-05-07T12:48:57.676-07:002016-05-07T12:48:57.676-07:00I've found pop culture-filled shows from the p...I've found pop culture-filled shows from the past a lot more enjoyable to watch since the Internet became a fairly reliable research tool. The more topical old-time radio shows like Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Fred Allen used to lose me a lot with contemporary references in their jokes. But now I can just Google a name or film title or news story, and the joke makes sense. Plus I've learned something in the process.<br /><br />The old Warner Bros. cartoons were often jammed-packed with pop culture references, but they didn't really stop me from enjoying them as a kid. And now that I get what they're talking about, it makes them even more charming that they're so firmly rooted in the 40s and 50s.Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25858121930671669512016-05-07T12:33:05.802-07:002016-05-07T12:33:05.802-07:00I guess they could have wrangled a new season out ...I guess they could have wrangled a new season out of Sam and Diane, but they already had done so much:<br /><br />Season 1: Getting together <br />Season 2: Falling apart<br />Season 3: Lying to themselves (Diane gets engaged to Frasier)<br />Season 4: Healing wounds/Getting back together <br />Season 5: Getting engaged <br /><br />Season 6 would have been them (at best) deciding to go their separate ways (with another convoluted excuse to keep Diane in the bar). Or them being married and the inevitable struggles that would have entailed (presumably with the season ending on a colossal fight, indicating they might be through again). It's difficult to imagine if they could have kept Sam/Diane stories going, and really I think the best thing Rebecca brought to the bar... was the bar. Her character really allowed the show to open up into the bar setting, giving us the opportunity for the secondary characters to come to the fore. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61718857289657405652016-05-07T12:23:36.604-07:002016-05-07T12:23:36.604-07:00Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly.Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly.mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71442136767944890422016-05-07T10:59:53.158-07:002016-05-07T10:59:53.158-07:00So you WOULDN'T fill a show with references to...So you WOULDN'T fill a show with references to Sarah Palin?<br /><br />The confirmation thing just took me 3 minutes.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30961061015037379382016-05-06T23:07:29.903-07:002016-05-06T23:07:29.903-07:00@ Stephen Robinson: "
"Rebecca, I dare ...@ Stephen Robinson: "<br /><br />"Rebecca, I dare say, was more narratively compelling than Diane because she had a purpose for being at the bar."<br /><br />I disagree. Rebecca's purpose for being at the bar pretty much ended when Robin Colcord went to jail and Sam got the bar back. After that, it seemed like the show had to invent far-fetched reasons for Rebecca to hang around: the ill-conceived - pun not intended! - notion of Rebecca and Sam wanting a baby; and after that, Rebecca pestering Sam to buy the bar off him, etc.<br /><br />(The Rebecca-wanting-the-bar arc is where I lost whatever remaining sympathy I had for the character. Not just because her motives were unconvincing, but because Rebecca <i>knew</i> how long and hard Sam had campaigned to get the bar back. Why would he turn it over to her? If memory serves, Rebecca even tried to force Sam's hand, by teaming up with John Allen Hill and taking ownership of the back room.)<br /><br />After the Sam/Rebecca plotlines fizzled out, Rebecca seemed to float to the periphery of the bar, and the show itself even started making jokes about how superfluous she had become to the show. Why do you think Carla was making almost meta-textual zingers about how Rebecca didn't seem to do anything in the bar? (I think it's also telling that Rebecca wasn't included in the show's very last scene.)Francis Dollarhydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16974200244125077414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34152208770372134352016-05-06T21:38:41.694-07:002016-05-06T21:38:41.694-07:00I think the problem with Sam/Diane if it had confi...I think the problem with Sam/Diane if it had confinued pasf the fiffh season would be repeating itself: Yes, as Francine notes, you could do variations on the false romantic lead for Diane or Sam but ultimately you are reinterpreting a theme.<br /><br />Rebecca, I dare say, was more narratively compelling than Diane because she had a purpose for being at the bar. Diane was a waitress who could have found employment anywhere else and among more accepting people. Rebecca was trapped on a slippery rung of the corporate ladder. Not only did she expand the series by allowing for more pointed satire of the '80s corporate world, she had a logical motivation to explore each episode.Stephen Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03670422634319094941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34234765066288962722016-05-06T20:08:28.941-07:002016-05-06T20:08:28.941-07:00Poirot was my Late mother's favourite too. PBS...Poirot was my Late mother's favourite too. PBS made a lot of money off Canadians from Poirot.<br /><br />Albert Giesbrechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17742338183833125104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77021816521367056162016-05-06T19:51:26.650-07:002016-05-06T19:51:26.650-07:00Jonathan Larson, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake.Jonathan Larson, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake.ELPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74003800126983734692016-05-06T19:43:22.981-07:002016-05-06T19:43:22.981-07:00Ken, in online discussions of "Cheers" I...Ken, in online discussions of "Cheers" I often come across the claim (mostly from fans of the show) that the Sam/Diane relationship had run its course and it was just as well that Shelley Long left the show when she did. To me, that's a knock on the writers, and on Shelley Long (who seems even more phenomenal every time I re-watch the show). Maybe the Sam/Diane dynamic couldn't have lasted for 11 seasons, but it certainly could have lasted longer than 5!<br /><br />There actually was a lot more room to explore with Sam and Diane. One thing that fascinates me is that the characters who rivalled Sam's love for Diane - or who were brought in simply to throw a spanner in the works of their relationship - tended to be on the highbrow side: Sumner Sloane, Phillip Semenko, Frasier Crane, etc. They were all from Diane's social or cultural strata. I think it would have been interesting if you guys brought in a long-term love-interest for Diane who was more blue-collar or down to earth. THAT would have shaken Sam up - what could he offer to Diane if Diane was in relationship with, essentially, "another" Sam? It's the sort of arc you could have stretched out for a full season, or at least a few episodes, and it could have put a totally new spin on the show (well, except it might have been the gender-flipped version of Sam's arc with the councilwoman played by Kate Mulgew).<br /><br />Is that close to anything you or the Charles Brothers or anyone might have considered had Shelley Long stayed on? (This comment might have just turned into a stealth Friday question...)Francis Dollarhydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16974200244125077414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54380167637749260572016-05-06T18:27:24.511-07:002016-05-06T18:27:24.511-07:00James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and River PhoenixJames Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and River Phoenixauthorized personnel onlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14230085145780926326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43884599041825410942016-05-06T17:58:18.497-07:002016-05-06T17:58:18.497-07:00@H Johnson Much like Leif Garrett as well.@H Johnson Much like Leif Garrett as well.Joseph Scarbroughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06851086150240380366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4147945992862632722016-05-06T17:11:57.008-07:002016-05-06T17:11:57.008-07:00Hendrix / Morrison / Joplin
Hendrix / Morrison / Joplin<br /><br />fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13409641680161401624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38025318648483490582016-05-06T16:13:02.947-07:002016-05-06T16:13:02.947-07:00Alan Rickman, sigh.... Janice B.Alan Rickman, sigh.... Janice B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14623114715835565512016-05-06T14:29:13.658-07:002016-05-06T14:29:13.658-07:00
Stevie Ray Vaughan
John Ritter
JT Walsh<br />Stevie Ray Vaughan<br />John Ritter<br />JT WalshJakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90890578106766603752016-05-06T14:19:24.390-07:002016-05-06T14:19:24.390-07:00tough to narrow it down to three. Today's choi...tough to narrow it down to three. Today's choices would be <br />Roger Miller<br />Jim Henson<br />George Gershwin<br /><br />next choices... not that anyone asked<br />Cass Elliot<br />Cole Porter<br />JFK<br /><br />in no particular orderSharoneRosenhttp://www.sharonerosen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22014145190741661202016-05-06T13:52:44.748-07:002016-05-06T13:52:44.748-07:00Hank Williams
Irving Thalberg
Alexander the GreatHank Williams<br />Irving Thalberg<br />Alexander the GreatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54094117813183513022016-05-06T13:41:20.021-07:002016-05-06T13:41:20.021-07:00@Joseph Scarbrough, yeah that's a joke. Busey ...@Joseph Scarbrough, yeah that's a joke. Busey is still with us. Kinda.<br /><br />Oh and @benson, Jim Croce's a great choice. If only, huh?<br /><br />AlohaH Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12482221297668464504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36662860949752892782016-05-06T13:06:41.112-07:002016-05-06T13:06:41.112-07:00Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and George Burns.
All pre...Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and George Burns.<br />All prematurely gone; they should have lived to 200.thomas tuckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241537308195762967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68262031859746371732016-05-06T12:56:49.031-07:002016-05-06T12:56:49.031-07:00@benson
Let's not forget the Martin and Lewis ...@benson<br />Let's not forget the Martin and Lewis coloring books, and the trial episode that featured a Prosecutor Mason and a Defender Berger. And speaking of Crummy Buttons, why hasn't that name been used for a band?(or has it??)BAnoreply@blogger.com