tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post1238789468772761463..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: Last Week in TV #9Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-70599957012620524162012-11-20T23:12:02.199-06:002012-11-20T23:12:02.199-06:00@Teebore: Our main director was a teacher, but her...<br>@Teebore: <i>Our main director was a teacher, but her co-director/choreographer/sometimes director was just a professional who worked with the department, and most of our set/lighting/sound designers were local industry professionals in some capacity, working for hire without being teachers</i><br /><br />We had a pretty creatively successful program but it wasn't anywhere near that well-staffed. There was one adult in charge as director running the program — a different one at least every year, while I was there. Other parents, I guess, helped out with some costumes and carpentry, but it was up to the kids to run the lights and everything, knowledge passed down within the ever-shifting (as seniors graduated and frosh came in) small group involved, an even smaller group when it came to crew because the on-stage talent and the crew didn't always mix. Student directors were designated each year, too; I was one of two my senior year, acting in the first play and stage-managing the second.<br /><br />Me: <i>"We're a Twizzlers family" was funny, except Red Vines and Twizzlers are both disgusting.</i><br /><br />You: <i>Ha! I have no strong opinions on the matter (I like both fine but neither is a favorite candy) but your reaction cracked me up.</i><br /><br />I'm glad you liked it. And now I wish I'd kept my decidedly stronger reaction in: "If I wanted the sensation of chewing leather with a vague fake-cherry flavor, I'd probably make my own." I took it out lest I offend any Red Vines or Twizzler fans.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-3732039439970530052012-11-20T11:32:16.009-06:002012-11-20T11:32:16.009-06:00@Blam: it turns out that I'd forgot her clothe...@Blam: <i>it turns out that I'd forgot her clothes apparently just magically vanish when she's a wolf and then come back. </i><br /><br />Which is, of course, terribly convenient. But that's magic. <br /><br /><i>Did we get confirmation via Granny that she was telling Red the truth?</i><br /><br />I don't think so, which means either A. it's not meant to be a big deal or B. this isn't the last we'll see of that particular story/characters. I'm hoping for "A". <br /><br /><i>Given the whole magic thing, it's hardly a cheat, and makes a nice way for the sides to potentially communicate "believably" while also setting up a mysterious larger threat.</i><br /><br />Indeed. Well said. <br /><br /><i>I swear Alison Hannigan's boobs are getting even bigger.</i><br /><br />I've noticed that as well. Very strange (not that I'm complaining, mind). <br /><br /><i>I suppose that we are left with her really being against the move for altruistic reasons and the show just needlessly muddying things through presenting her character in so many different lights.</i><br /><br />I HOPE that's the case; the whole thing was muddied I wouldn't be at all surprised if the show was just going back to saying she's a villain who doesn't like different people, but the fact that they at least referenced her previous acts of tolerance/championing of underdogs leads me to believe they're at least trying to present her agenda with some logic/sympathy. <br /><br /><i>My high school didn't have a show choir, but the theater program was led by teachers, a professional director, and parents at various times.</i><br /><br />Ditto my high school program. Our main director was a teacher, but her co-director/choreographer/sometimes director was just a professional who worked with the department, and most of our set/lighting/sound designers were local industry professionals in some capacity, working for hire without being teachers (that was the capacity in which I ended up working professionally with a former teacher).<br /><br />And like yours, our theater program was entirely extracurricular/after school (the director taught acting and drama classes during school years, but the actual production of the school's plays and musicals was all extracurricular) whereas, as you say, the glee club as presented sometimes seems to blur those lines (though I suppose if the glee club was an actual class, Will wouldn't have to resort to being an awful history nee Spanish teacher).<br /><br /><i>The Pink duet between Wade and Marley was pretty awesome except for the necessarily ridiculous watering-down of "shit day" to "bad day".</i><br /><br />The term "whiskey dick" got changed as well, but I did like the performance too. It almost won "Favorite Song" honors from me. <br /><br /><i>The Pink duet between Wade and Marley was pretty awesome except for the necessarily ridiculous watering-down of "shit day" to "bad day".</i><br /><br />I was honestly surprised at the way it went down, as we got the most expected/least dramatic pairing, with the "heroes" winning the roles they wanted, the "antihero" left as conflicted as usual and the "villain" more or less defeated. I was expecting some kind of mishmash pairing of the four or, as you suggest, contrived, fence-sitting role splitting. <br /><br /><i>Glenne Headley being Ben's mom makes me feel ollllld.</i><br /><br />Me too. Good to see her again, though. <br /><br /><i>"We're a Twizzlers family" was funny, except Red Vines and Twizzlers are both disgusting.</i><br /><br />Ha! I have no strong opinions on the matter (I like both fine but neither is a favorite candy) but your reaction cracked me up. <br /><br /><i>Did you catch April reading an issue of </i>Batman: The Brave and the Bold? <br /><br />I caught her reading a comic; I missed what it was (other than it being Batman, which fits, given it was likely Ben's). So thanks for mentioning it. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-83573825380122506692012-11-19T17:16:10.863-06:002012-11-19T17:16:10.863-06:00Parks and Recreation: Ben's Parents
It's ...<br><b><i>Parks and Recreation</i>: Ben's Parents</b><br /><br /><i>It's an odd thing to say, but one of the (many) great things about this show is its restraint.</i><br /><br />Very true. Even as I love how farcical it is at times, the emotions and the characters are mostly grounded — not always obviously, in terms of the broader ones, but we're shown what we need to see when we need to see it.<br /><br />That's a spot-on observation about Tom, as well, although I struggled with the show having him realize and reject how Jean-Ralphio was holding him back; on one hand, it was a winning point for Tom, but on the other hand, it was awfully predictable. Similarly, Jean-Ralphio is a complete turn-off for me, not just to the extent that he's obviously presented but in terms of <i>I don't find him funny or even tolerable at all</i>, so I'd have liked to see a way to do this without him actually taking up as much space in the episode as he did.<br /><br />Glenne Headley being Ben's mom makes me feel <i>ollllld</i>.<br /><br />"We're a Twizzlers family" was funny, except Red Vines and Twizzlers are both disgusting.<br /><br />I accompanied my girlfriend to an <i>hors d'oeuvres</i> reception at the President's house in college; his wife was her German teacher. There was lots of cold shrimp and, yes, like Ron, I had some in my hand as I left.<br /><br />Did you catch April reading an issue of <i>Batman: The Brave and the Bold</i>? <br /><br /><b><i>Saturday Night Live</i>: Anne Hathaway and Rihanna</b><br /><br /><i>Ellen</i> rocked — both McKinnon's Ellen and Hathaway as Katie Holmes.<br /><br />I liked the song in the monologue, too, particularly for making sense and involving everyone.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-86464945795101379632012-11-19T17:11:52.581-06:002012-11-19T17:11:52.581-06:00Glee: The Role You Were Born to Play
Finn is the ...<br><b><i>Glee</i>: The Role You Were Born to Play</b><br /><br />Finn is the dude whisperer!<br /><br />What you say about the show's use of Sue is true in general and also in particular here <i>if</i> we're supposed to take what she said at face value. At least before they went in front of Principal Figgins, however, I took her antagonism as a way of goading Wade into auditioning for Rizzo after all — supporting him through the veil of contempt. The way it ended up playing out, I got confused, but I suppose that we are left with her really being against the move for altruistic reasons and the show just needlessly muddying things through presenting her character in so many different lights.<br /><br /><i>And kudos to the show for establishing how it's possible for Finn to do so despite not being a teacher or certified in any way.</i><br /><br />Based on what Will said, it makes sense. My high school didn't have a show choir, but the theater program was led by teachers, a professional director, and parents at various times. That was an after-school, extracurricular thing, however; <i>Glee</i> has presented the glee club as awfully like a class, meeting in-between bell rings during the school day and having week-to-week assignments that really only make sense either if there's grading involved or if the idea is purely to have fun together as opposed to preparing for the competitions that are periodically all anybody cares about.<br /><br />I love "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and Darren Criss did a fine job with it, but seeing Blaine walk blithely and unscathed amidst the football players reminded me of (and was almost as silly as) Derek Jacobi as Narrator walking through the battlefield in Kenneth Branagh's <i>Henry V</i>.<br /><br />The Pink duet between Wade and Marley was pretty awesome except for the necessarily ridiculous watering-down of "shit day" to "bad day".<br /><br />I know Brittany can dance best, which factors into the role, but I thought for sure Queen Bitch Kitty would be Cha-Cha (or, the way these things go on TV shows, that she and Marley would split Sandy).Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-70193730783875831132012-11-19T17:08:39.369-06:002012-11-19T17:08:39.369-06:00Once Upon a Time: Child of the Moon
I wondered wh...<br><b><i>Once Upon a Time</i>: Child of the Moon</b><br /><br />I wondered why nobody stops to think that Ruby wakes up in the woods completely dressed, but it turns out that I'd forgot her clothes apparently just magically vanish when she's a wolf and then come back. <br /><br /><i>Even while this episode took advantage of the whole "dual identities" premise, I still would have liked it to have gone further</i><br /><br />Yeah. Ditto to most of your analysis as usual, in fact.<br /><br /><i>it was pretty clear Charles Widmore orchestrated the whole thing to discredit David from the get-go</i><br /><br />I'm willing to admit that at first I suspected the werewolf fella she met, then her mom (or "mom" — Did we get confirmation via Granny that she was telling Red the truth?), before the story ruled them out. And I still don't get why nobody asked whether there were, and/or offered up knowledge of, other werewolves in Storybrooke. <br /><br /><i>I mean, he straight-up killed a dude, nothing magical about it or anything.</i><br /><br />Not just killed, either, as if murder isn't to a great extent a <i>ne plus ultra</i>. He mauled and tore the guy in half.<br /><br />So when Henry sleeps he's in the netherworld of the sleeping curse and so is Aurora. I figured they'd be able to communicate this way. Given the whole magic thing, it's hardly a cheat, and makes a nice way for the sides to potentially communicate "believably" while also setting up a mysterious larger threat.<br /><br /><b><i>How I Met Your Mother</i>: Splitsville</b><br /><br />I liked this episode perfectly well, especially the Barney/Robin stuff at the end (despite it being, as you say, sitcom-tease), but I don't have much to say about it other than I swear Alison Hannigan's boobs are getting even bigger.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-80967481512669626532012-11-16T18:25:55.986-06:002012-11-16T18:25:55.986-06:00@Matt: Having seen him in BB first, I found his ch...@Matt: <i>Having seen him in BB first, I found his character even funnier than I normally would have.</i><br /><br />I've seen that sentiment expressed elsewhere as well, from cross <i>P&R</i> and <i>BB</i> fans. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-73998413083774895602012-11-16T18:11:34.570-06:002012-11-16T18:11:34.570-06:00Agreed that "Come on, math, you dick" wa...Agreed that "Come on, math, you dick" was the funniest line in <i>Family Guy</i>.<br /><br />I'm also curious to see, whenever you eventually get around to watching <i>Breaking Bad</i>, what you think of Ben's dad over there. Having seen him in BB first, I found his character even funnier than I normally would have.<br /><br />(Yes, I know that Jonathan Banks has been in tons of stuff over the decades, even stuff I've seen such as an episode of <i>Modern Family</i> just last year, but I never took notice of him till BB.)Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.com