The TV thread

I don't dislike the new Night Court. There's something there. Larroquette is still funny. The show is lighthearted and has a heart, which is appreciated in a time of dark and darker.

I actually like Will Trent on ABC. A lot of sub stories, but the characters have enough quirks to keep them interesting without being completely dislikable.

 

I watched the new Night Court reluctantly (the original was a huge favorite of mine as a kid, the whole NBC Thursday night train).

Really, really leans into the 80s sitcom feel. Perhaps a bit too much. I'm sort of surprised it's been so well received as it's pretty uneven.

I like Melissa Rauch a lot, but she hasn't quite found it yet.

It's mostly the great John Larroquette willing mediocre material into something not too bad. And there's nothing wrong with that. He's a treasure.

So, perhaps there is something there. As noted, it's light. It's different in an old-school way. I'll stick with it. Hell, only 22 minutes even if it sucks.

 

I've just seen the first three episodes of "Night Court." I think Rauch and Larroquette (of course) are great, although I'm not warming to the other main characters and don't know that I will.

The third ep, for those who haven't seen it yet, had an reveal about Abby's past which could be interesting. Also, it was announced that Faith Ford, who was in "Murphy Brown," has signed on as Abby's mother for a future episode. Interested to see what the dynamic is there.

 

If nothing else watching John Larroquette still hammering this dialogue so smoothly is like Nolan Ryan continuing to fan 200+ guys a year well into his 40s.

And there's definitely some decent chemistry between he and Rauch. They really miss a good counterfoil for Dan's antics though. This prosecutor character isn't close to that.

 

Shrinking…

It’s not Ted Lasso, but the mental health theme is fascinating.

Is part of the problem with mental health the unwillingness of the professionals to cross a line to help a person?

 

TLOU gave us a nice pallet cleanser

 

We Crashed could become a camp classic with Jared Leto's Tommy Wiseau meets Triumph accent work and Anne Hathaway's cringey, over the top performance.

 

Very much a bridge episode, but still plenty of good stuff in there, especially in building the Joel-Ellie relationship. The Kansas City events in the game actually occur in Pittsburgh. But with a lot to get into in a nine-episode season, I'm guessing the showrunners needed to expedite the cross-country trip for Joel and Ellie. Just not enough time to spend multiple episodes traveling with them and still get to everything important.

 

They said in the post-episode video it was because of location similarities in Calgary. Not too many places look like they were designed and built by drunk Germans, unfortunately.

 

Was very good. Loved the “you laughed, motherfucker” moment. Also did a good job setting up stakes to come.

 

I wonder if choosing Pittsburgh for a game was a nod to zombie movie history. The Walking Dead took a detour there as well.