The TV thread

Random question of the day: It's pretty clear that the characters of The West Wing had several real-world inspirations - both leads and guest stars - but I remember the episode with Lord John played by Roger Rees - a drunk charismatic and effective British ambassador, the characterization seemed so specific - it had to be based on a real person and yet I've found nothing on the web.

 

Rewatching "The Larry Sanders Show"; man I miss Garry Shandling. Great cast; Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn (best facial expressions).

 

Finished up Season 3 of Crashing last night ... what a satisfying ending. That finale was fucking fantastic.

 

Derry Girls on Netflix was funny and bittersweet. Barristan Selmy of GoT is hilarious as the main character's gruff grandpa.

 

In some ways, Lord John was very similar to Winston Churchill.

 

It's a good question. I'll have to go poking around on that one. Perhaps he was an amalgamation of many real people Sorkin knew or about whom he had heard stories.

 

‘NYPD Blue’: Kim Delaney & Bill Brochtrup To Reprise Roles In ABC’s Sequel Pilot

On the plus side, it looks like there will be a sequel series for NYPD Blue. Kim Delaney and Bill Brochtup will return.

The downside? The rumored plot for the pilot is Theo Sipowicz, now a police officer at the 15th, is investigating the murder of his father.

 

Just enjoyed the first episode. Definitely want to keep going. LOLed at least three times. Gervais outlining the one guy's day by saying he eats a doughnut in front of his computer, goes home and eats in front of the telly, them goes to bed and prolly eats there -- and the guy agreeing -- was priceless.

 

The more I think about it, the more I like this series. I’m a fan of Gervais, so I was trying to guard on a default position.

The ultimate message is heart warming.

Won’t spoil it for anyone who wants to watch. One minor thing I loved... barley a smart phone to be seen. Human interactions.

I need to set a goal to limit my smart phone time.

 

Feeling The Churn: Why Netflix Cancels Shows After A Couple Of Seasons & Why They Can’t Move To New Homes

I agree with a lot of what is mentioned here. Netflix has been cancelling more good shows than they've been adding lately. You get the same show, but three or four different versions of it (the US, the French, the Russian, the Australian). I don't think they need another narcoterrorist project whether fiction or a documentary. I realize they want all of their shows to have global appeal, but Netflix really needs to launch a great show. So much of their inventory is similar to something else (that is better).

 

Amy Schumer has a new special on Netflix where much of her routine is about getting married and being pregnant. I don't know what it is about comedians, but they immediately become less interesting when they start having kids. Male, female whatever. I get it - you have less time to go out and observe other people or work on your act, so you do so while you are parenting and you end up with diaper jokes, cravings jokes, epidural jokes...
I guess I just expected more from Schumer. Glad she's happy. But it's bad for her act.

 

While watching "The Enemy Within" on NBC -- which is a good show, BTW -- they built a Microsoft commercial practically into the script. An analyst used AI to help agents in the field then as the scene ended, the agent, in the same clothes and setting, started explaining AI to a colleague and pitching Microsoft. It was pretty clever because it looked like part of the show. It took us a second to realize it wasn't. We actually watched it instead of fast forwarding through it.