The TV thread

And now, the exciting conclusion ...
The governor's son was convicted. A woman who runs a service escorting women to abortion-friendly states (and helped the victim get her abortion before she was pushed off a bridge by her brother) witnessed the murder but was afraid to testify because of possible prosecution in Texas. The ADA talks her into testifying, and the abortion escort heroically comes forward at the end.
When the verdict is read, the brother is hurriedly led out of the courtroom as his parents cry and he shoots a Snidely Whiplash-like glare over his shoulder.
In the coda, the DAs thank the escort for her courage as she's exiting the courthouse. One of them gleefully suggests she'd be an asset to the fine state of New York and should move there. The escort politely declines, saying there are still women in the third-world hellhole of Texas who need her.
The escort exhibits even more courage by triumphantly walking down the courthouse steps toward an anti-abortion protest at the bottom.
Then a lunatic pro-lifer breaks from the crowd and shoots the escort, who dies on the courthouse steps.
The end.

I have seen A LOT of Law & Order episodes in the past 30 years. I think this is, hands down, the first time I've ever watched one and asked, "What in the holy fuck happened to this show!?"
It's never shied away from political issues and cases, but it was almost always well-acted and well-written. At the end you always felt like it gave a pretty fair shake to both sides no matter how things turned out. It normally made you think a little bit. This one looked like a third-place finisher at a Planned Parenthood orientation session's talent show.
Adam Schiff weeps.

 

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/trevor-noah-leaving-daily-show-1235388893/

 

It will be interesting to see what they do with the show. i'd like to see Comedy Central put some effort into it and maybe announce another show to follow TDS. Have a female host for TDS and do something different in the 11:30 segment. Maybe a rip-off of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me or something.

 

Not sure there’s a reason for a daily show anymore. You can watch one John Oliver show a week, laugh hard, and that hits the spot for me.

Ratings seem to back that up. A daily show is a ton of work for a very small audience.

 

Late night shows are basically just jokes/skits which are viewed the next day on Twitter. The stars rarely give interesting interviews anymore. It’s a barely relevant form.

 

In the past two decades, YouTube and then podcasts have really all but killed the format. Conan having an hour-long conversation with Jim Burrows or Luke Wilson, and joking around with his staff for another 15 minutes, is delightful. You can easily fill up a podcast queue for an hour or two each day with similar comedy.

 

I don't think they've helped themselves by going all-in on politics in many cases. And mostly all-in on one side. Colbert, for example, is a Democrat infomercial disguised as a late night talk show. Noah's show seems to be slanted in that direction. Kimmel is a little better with it, but has definitely leaned that way more often than not.
The jokes aren't funny, either. A lot of them seem to be along the lines of, "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Donald Trump sucks! <wild applause>"
The hall of famers — Carson, Leno, Letterman, Conan — certainly mixed in plenty of political jokes, but it was more taking shots at whoever happened to be in power and not obviously toeing a party line like the current crop of hosts.

 

Tell me you don’t watch these shows without saying you don’t watch these shows.

I think last night’s L&O episode broke your brain.

 

It did.
And I mostly catch a few minutes of Colbert and Kimmel now and then, when the local news ends and I can't get over to change it right away. I feel like I see enough of their monologues to get the gist.

 

The Daily Show was largely political by its original nature. I just don't think you need a week of those shows when Oliver, IMO, has pointed to a more effective model.

 

Colbert is too fixated on politics for my taste, but I believe he's sincere. I think Kimmel's full of shit.