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Thread: Not so vintage TV

  1. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    The current cast isn't too shabby. That is, since Fallon left for Late Night, then the Tonight show. That BOC skit seemed to rear its ugly head every time Christopher Walken hosted. The last time ever Walken hosted, he was terrible. In every sketch, his eyes were glued to the cue cards.
    He might be more famous these days for the original skit than he was for all the movies he's been in. Sort of like how Shirley Booth and Ernest Borgnine became more famous for their sitcom careers than all the feature film work they did prior to going to TV.

    Anyway, swinging this thread back on topic, I've found another show that James May has done called James May: Our Man In Japan. The show is basically travelogue as he travels from the very north of Japan down to the South. I've seen the first four episodes already, and they have that great dry wit he displays on Top Gear and The Grand Tour. It's well worth watching if you've 'enjoyed his earlier work.

    I've also been advised I should check out a show called The Expanse, which is also on Amazon Prime, so that's gone into the queue, as well.

  2. #27
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Though Walken is a helluva screen actor and way back in his past, did some song and dance. Which allowed him to do this:

    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  3. #28
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I've also been advised I should check out a show called The Expanse, which is also on Amazon Prime, so that's gone into the queue, as well.
    I've seen the first two episodes. Kinda struck me as Blade Runner meets Total Recall.

  4. #29
    BTW, I thought the funniest thing on SNL in decades, was, right after September 11, there was thing on TV where they had the cast, and Lorne Michaels giving this speech about whether or not it was appropriate for them to continue doing a comedy show in the face of this great tragedy. He then turns to Mayor Guiliani, and basically asks, as if to ask permission, "Can we be funny?". Without missing a beat, Guiliani shoots back with, "Why start now?". Whatever you want to say about Guiliani, at that moment, he totally nailed the situation.

  5. #30
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I saw that cowbell episode once.. Hysterical. Once was enough.

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    The cast on SNL is quite good but the writing is poor. I read somewhere that the hot comedy writers went to the talk shows (Colbert, Fallon, Daily Show, Oliver, etc) in NYC and SNL was no longer a top draw for the best writers.
    I would agree with that assessment. The current cast is very talented and there will be some break out stars, especially Kate Mcinnon. The writing is not so great. If we are home on a Saturday night we often still watch it, but the skits only hit the mark about half the time. I am not a huge fan of Alec Baldwin's Trump. It is just an ok impression. The two guys who do weekend update are good and often that is still the highlight of the show.

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    The cast on SNL is quite good but the writing is poor. I read somewhere that the hot comedy writers went to the talk shows (Colbert, Fallon, Daily Show, Oliver, etc) in NYC and SNL was no longer a top draw for the best writers.
    I would agree with that assessment. The current cast is very talented and there will be some break out stars, especially Kate Mcinnon. She is pretty much amazing at everything she does and skits with her are often the best of the bunch. The writing is not so great. If we are home on a Saturday night we often still watch it, but the skits only hit the mark about half the time. I am not a huge fan of Alec Baldwin's Trump. It is just an ok impression to me. The two guys who do weekend update are good and often that is still the highlight of the show these days.

  8. #33
    Member frinspar's Avatar
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    We've started watching Schitt's Creek on Netflix. 60-something eps, so should last a little bit.
    It was created by Eugene Levy's son, Daniel, and is a silly take on the fish out of water theme. It's about a rich family loses everything to the IRS, except for a broken down little town, Schitt's Creek, that was bought years earlier as a joke. Not sure how they would get to keep it, except as the obvious promise for the whole show. But who cares? It's pretty funny so far.
    Chris Elliot plays the mayor to his normally slimy, uncomfortable effect.

    New season of Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) also started this past week. Great series out of Spain that Netflix picked up to produce and continue the story.

    Ozark's latest season was their best yet.

  9. #34
    Starting on James May's Man Lab. This is actually about 10 years old, judging from the dates given on Prime, but it was a documentary (sort of) series, where he does "manly" things. In the first episode, he attempts to defuse a Nazi bomb (actually a mockup) and to build a kitchen that will "last a thousand years".

    We're told the reason for the former is because "The British are very good diggers, that's why we make good gardeners, and why we were so good at escaping from prisoner of war camps" and there's apparently a lot of unexploded bombs littering the British countryside, leftover from the Blitz (according to James 1/10th of the bombs dropped by the Nazis didn't detonate). The latter they're doing because apparently the average British kitchen only lasts about 5 years before it gets replaced by it's owner, but James feels a Man would "choose and choose well".

    Let's see how this goes.

  10. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Starting on James May's Man Lab. This is actually about 10 years old, judging from the dates given on Prime, but it was a documentary (sort of) series, where he does "manly" things. In the first episode, he attempts to defuse a Nazi bomb (actually a mockup) and to build a kitchen that will "last a thousand years".

    We're told the reason for the former is because "The British are very good diggers, that's why we make good gardeners, and why we were so good at escaping from prisoner of war camps" and there's apparently a lot of unexploded bombs littering the British countryside, leftover from the Blitz (according to James 1/10th of the bombs dropped by the Nazis didn't detonate). The latter they're doing because apparently the average British kitchen only lasts about 5 years before it gets replaced by it's owner, but James feels a Man would "choose and choose well".

    Let's see how this goes.
    There are enough undetonated bombs from the other side as well.

  11. #36
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    ....I am not a huge fan of Alec Baldwin's Trump. It is just an ok impression.....
    The shows worst impressionist has been Norm MacDonald. When he did Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole, he sounded like Norm MacDonald acting like Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole. A close second would be Bill Hader. His Alan Alda is spot on, but every other impression sounds like Bill Hader doing whomever.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  12. #37
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Norm MacDonald once said he was never comfortable doing impressions but you did what you could because getting air time was so competitive.

    Baldwin's Trump is ok, but way over done on a show that was completely obsessed by Trump the years following the election.

    Lots of SNL cast members have found their celebrity impersonations but many of them are one-note. Like everybody does a Walken, everyone does a Tom Cruise but few can really stretch it out into routine. I love Hader's Vincent Price holiday specials. I love what Kristen Wiig does on those too (even though they're a tad mean spirited).

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    The shows worst impressionist has been Norm MacDonald. When he did Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole, he sounded like Norm MacDonald acting like Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole. A close second would be Bill Hader. His Alan Alda is spot on, but every other impression sounds like Bill Hader doing whomever.
    I always thought his Burt Reynolds was hilarious, but yea overall he was not a great impressionist. Hader was not great at it either, but agree his Alda was very good.

  14. #39
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    I love Norm MacDonald. I love his delivery style and I love that a lot of people don't. I still go to YT and watch his ESPN ESPY award show monolog. But his stab at a sitcom was underwhelming. He is not a good actor; he makes Jerry Seinfeld look like Olivier.

  15. #40
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    ^^ I thought Norm's eponymous sit-com was side splittingly hilarious...at least in the first season. In the second season, when they brought in the dad from Alf, the show got real stupid real fast.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  16. #41
    Watching the three stooges on The Grand Tour trying to photograph wildlife in Colombia.

  17. #42
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    The shows worst impressionist has been Norm MacDonald. When he did Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole, he sounded like Norm MacDonald acting like Burt Reynolds or Bob Dole. A close second would be Bill Hader. His Alan Alda is spot on, but every other impression sounds like Bill Hader doing whomever.
    As opposed to when Chevy Chase did Gerald Ford. You literally Could. Not. Tell. it was not Ford.

  18. #43
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3LockBox View Post
    I love Norm MacDonald. I love his delivery style and I love that a lot of people don't. I still go to YT and watch his ESPN ESPY award show monolog. But his stab at a sitcom was underwhelming. He is not a good actor; he makes Jerry Seinfeld look like Olivier.
    "You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy, the more I don't care for him."

  19. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    As opposed to when Chevy Chase did Gerald Ford. You literally Could. Not. Tell. it was not Ford.
    The main element of Chase's impression of Ford seemed to hinge on him bumping into stuff and falling over.

    Actualy, thing I remember Chevy Chase most for, on SNL, was Weekend Update. "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not". That and time, during the next season or the one after that, when I think it's Paul Simon who's hosting, and they show him walking into Rockefeller Plaza, and he passes Chevy, who's busking on the sidewalk out front. That was kinda funny, ya know, like the movie career wasn't working out too well. I honestly can't remember any of his other bits on the show, aside from the Ford thing.

    As far as Presidential stuff on SNL, nothing tops Dan Aykroyd, as Carter, talking down a guy who's having a bad LSD trip, over the phone, advising him to put on some Allman Brothers Band records and relax.

    I think the best impressionists they probably had on SNL were Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey. And I don't care what anyone thinks, I loved the dueling Joe Cockers thing, where you had Belushi doing Joe Cocker, dueting with the real Joe Cocker.

    Oh yeah, and Paul Shaffer's Don Kirshner impression was perfect. Kirshner himself was fond of telling people that Shaffer became famous "because of me".

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post

    I think the best impressionists they probably had on SNL were Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey.

    of me".
    I would throw in Daryl Hammond. He did a lot of good impressions. Kate Mckinnon in the current cast is also great at most impressions.

  21. #46
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Yeah, being a Kiss fan, I watched the first couple seasons of the Gene Simmons show. It was actually really funny, I thought a lot better than the Ozzy show, but after awhile, you just knew this stuff was all staged.
    Ridiculously staged. I never thought it was funny. I couldn't get through the first season.

    Full Disclosure: I helped co-write the premiere episode, so I know how crappy and fake it was. In fact, I have behind-the-scenes photos showing how fake the show is. I also never signed a non-disclosure agreement.

  22. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by Gruno View Post
    Ridiculously staged. I never thought it was funny. I couldn't get through the first season.

    Full Disclosure: I helped co-write the premiere episode, so I know how crappy and fake it was. In fact, I have behind-the-scenes photos showing how fake the show is. I also never signed a non-disclosure agreement.
    Yeah, I remember you talking about that before. I don't remember what happened in the premiere episode, but yeah, it became obvious after awhile most of it had to be a put on. I mean, yeah, like Gene just happened to Crazy Glue a vibrator to his hand that one time.

    I dunno, for me it was fun for awhile. I'd have to look up how long it took me to bail on the show. I think I might have made it at least part way through the second season.

    The one that was most definitely fun, to me, was that deal where he went to England, and taught the classically trained kids how to play rock music. I remember watching the first few episodes, but couldn't take any more when they did the one where they picked the singer for the band. He passed over all the kids who actually sang great because they just stood there (well, what else are you supposed to do when you're auditoining?!) and chose the kid who not only sang off key but couldn't even get the rhythm of the melody right, never mind the notes, because he sort of haphazardly jumped up and down while he was "singing". I bailed at that point. I mean seriously, this kid made Lemmy sound like Freddie Mercury.

  23. #48
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Comet TV is running the reimagined, 2003 mini series of Battlestar Galactica this week. It's good, but there are a couple characters I can't stand that almost make me wanna change the station. Great story, fx, great character dev and acting by most of the regular cast, but some of the " edgy " characters are hard to sympathize with.

  24. #49
    So today's The Grand Tour had the three idiots testing a trio of (allegedly) European made pickup trucks. Part of the test was to see how good it would be when laden with all of one's worldly goods, when fleeing from a country where a war has broken out. Since this is Jezza, Hamster and Captain Slow, naturally all their crap went flying off the back of their trucks once they started their drag race. But Jeremey's copy of The Yes Album apparently survived. As James says, "You've got half a table, a mattress, and the worst album in history!"
    Comet TV is running the reimagined, 2003 mini series of Battlestar Galactica this week. It's good, but there are a couple characters I can't stand that almost make me wanna change the station. Great story, fx, great character dev and acting by most of the regular cast, but some of the " edgy " characters are hard to sympathize with.
    I might be the only person on the planet who still prefers the original Galactica over the "re-imagining". When you do something like that, you change it so much, you might as well just call it something else. The original show was a lot more fun. Well, the first season was. Galactica 1980 was just dumb, as I recall.

  25. #50
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    When you do something like that, you change it so much, you might as well just call it something else.
    Yeah I agree.

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