The TV thread

Not really giving away spoilers, but in the first 10 minutes he walks into the principal's office, says he'd like to take over the theater department. The principal says "Sure", the current one drives him nuts. Radnor goes in and tells the current one - played by Rosie Perez - that the principal put him in charge and he's scrapping the production of "Grease" that is already in rehearsals....then he goes home and tells his wife - oh yeah, thought I'd shake things up a bit and take over the theater department which will mean less time at home for you and the kids, but....

Honestly, I'm really surprised the execs and producers and presumably test audiences thought all of this was cool.

 

That's white privilege. Ted Moseby over Rosie Perez to run a theater department?

 

We watched The Good Girls the past couple of nights. Very well acted if a bit strange in the shift from drama to comedy and back.

 

That's sort of how I feel about "Mom." Funny as hell, but man, does it go into some dark places.

 

As a kid, a cop show meant shooting and chase scenes. Once I got hooked on Law and Order, it made the BBC style of cop show much more interesting. "Collateral" a four-hour miniseries on Netflix is quite good with Cary Mulligan.

 

Jeez Radnors really been typecast as a selfish prick whos completely obtuse about his own dicky ways eh?

 

I'm curious to see HBO's "Barry" next week. Bill Hader and Henry Winkler. Oh, and Stephen Root too, just in case they have the urge to burn the whole place down.

 

Better show:
We follow the proceedings as the original theater department chair files a grievance against the principal and her faculty peer.
The new theater department chair files a grievance against her and the principal.
Meanwhile, the parents of the kids in the cast of 'Grease' file for an injunction to stop the school from cancelling 'Grease' while they sue the school district.
And the parents of the kids in the new production set to replace 'Grease' file for an injunction to stop the production of 'Grease' and sue the school district.

Then the whole show just unfolds as an arbitration and court-room procedural.

 

Been catching up on movies lately, and perhaps more than ever feel that the TV medium has overtaken the form. Particularly the streaming sites, TV allows producers to tell a story in the time it needs to be told without regard to "three-act structure" or the need to appeal to various foreign markets and whatnot.
Movies feel so structured now you can almost predict the plot twists and when they will come. When you think of many TV shows these days, they are doing three-act-structures on their episodes, while also using the structure in organizing a particular season's arc and the various mini-arcs along the way.
I've seen more than a few movies I thought might have worked better as 13-season TV shows.

 

Really enjoying Good Girls on NBC with Christina Hendricks. It’s a good mix of comedy and suspense.

 

I've thought Mae Whitman is fantastic ever since Parenthood. There's something very appealing about her.

 

Her?