The TV thread

that's when the contracts run out and how else to explain a sudden beloved character's disappearance and no one else on the show mentioning them much again.

 

Never liked the way that they handled that death. He was way, way too casual in that deli.

 

Agreed. I get that he was supposed to be feeling good. They had just caught C.J.'s stalker and they had a moment together in front of the theater with the promise of much more. That said, he was supposed to be good at his job. It never made sense that he would be that sloppy.

I just finished rewatching "25," the final episode of Season 4. It is also the last episode Sorkin wrote before leaving the show. I've watched the entire series four or five times. This time it was a partial re-watch. I really just wanted to see Sorkin's episodes. I love "25" so much. The juxtaposition of the main storyline with the president is good, but Richard Schiff absolutely steals the episode. I am on team Toby, even with the way the writers fucked up the character in later seasons.

Wenders, I strongly suggest you look away and enjoy these two scenes in context when you get to that season. For those who have already seen it, I present these links from YouTube. One of the quotes in my signature also comes from that episode.

 

Makes sense. Things I just learned from his IMDb: he's married to Pam Dawber, aka Mindy from Mork and Mindy.

Anyway, I'm ready for Danny Concannan to come back anyway.

And @outofplace , I have enjoyed seeing the quotes in your signature when I come across them in the show.

 

Glad you enjoyed them. I may have a bit of an obsession with that show.

By the way, I started the special on HBO Max, which is built around performing "Hartsfield's Landing," an episode from Season 3, as a play. They have Sterling K. Brown playing Leo, which is really weird. Brown is great, and if they rebooted the show, I would love to see him on it, but I have a really hard time watching him working with the rest of the cast in place of John Spencer.

Edit: Right after I posted that, something occurred to me and I had to check. Dule Hill is actually a little older than Sterling K. Brown. So if you go by the age so the actors, in the special, Charlie is older than Leo.

 

I really need to binge the West Wing. I have heard nothing but great things and it seems like the type of show I would enjoy.

 

The Original Honeymooners is on Amazon Prime. The Black and white 1951-54 seasons.

 

Interesting!

I have Disney+ and I've been watching this old kids show from the 1990s, Smart Guy. (I watched the original run and it's still a fun show.) There's an episode where Tahj Mowry's character participates in a dance recital and learns to tap dance. I thought the dance instructor looked vaguely familiar....

 

Obviously, I agree that it is worth watching. It did take a little while into the first season for the show to really hit its stride. Part of that was adapting from the original plan, which was to have it focus entirely on the staff with the president being a minor character. He doesn't even show up until very late in the first episode, but damn if he doesn't make a strong impression from the very moment he starts speaking. The story goes that Sheen was just so good in the role that they just had to expand his part.

 

Binged "Utopia," the last half of Season Two of "The Boys," and "James May: Our Man in Japan."

Last things first:

James May's series consists of him wandering around Japan. It's actually quite lovely in places, which makes me think he might have used at least one DP from The Grand Tour. Is it funny? There were some laugh out loud moments. As much as I like all three of the lads from Top Gear/Grand Tour, I think James is my favorite because he is shameless in his geekery and empathetic with the people charged with showing him around.

Utopia? Sweet God. Who knew Lloyd Dobler would turn out to be such a bastard? There are some compelling performances, but the source material is so bad and there was no end, just a cliffhanger and I guess some hope there will be a Season Two. Funny thing about it is there is one role that would have been played by a much younger Rainn Wilson while he wobbles around and emotes like an unemployed CDC staffer.

The Boys, Season Two was great. I blame/credit Garth Ennis. Way back in the day when "Preacher" was a twinkle in Johnny Depp's eye, I used to wait for the trade paperbacks to come out. Reading one left me with the feeling that I'd watched a really great action movie.* Jesse and Tulip was the love story of the decade as far as I was concerned. Unfortunately, the AMC series was a pale echo of the comics that left burn marks on my hands. Having written that, "The Boys" impressed the heck out of me. The criticisms of America's addiction to celebrity were spot on. I love the casting. Like everyone else here, I am over A-Train and The Deep. However, I did like A-Train popping up in the back of the car with a cheery, "Hi, Shitbirds!" I'm so invested in this, it's almost embarrassing. I loved Miyoko and Frenchie's arc. Also have to admit loving the girlfight in the season finale. I hate Nazis. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease let Season Three be just as good!

*I think Penn Jillette made a similar observation. I could be misremembering one of his introductons to the TPBs.

 

Where they took Toby’s arc was maybe the dumbest development of the post-Sorkin years. Other than King Corn.

 

Actually, I take it back. The worst episode they ever did was the fake documentary about some rando comms staffers.