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At the close of trading on November 17, 2021 a share of Netflix stock would cost you $691.69. At the end of trading on May 20, 2022 it was $186.35, a drop of over 70%. What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on around here? The Mighty Men of GLoP are on the case as “woke” ideology meets “stupid money” meets an industry that has started to reach its maturity.
Then the new Judd Apatow documentary about the late George Carlin (HBO Max) spurs a discussion on great standup comics past and present and how their work stands the test of time.
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All in all, the new Downton Abbey movie is a pleasant visit with the Downton family, upstairs and downstairs, with one major character making an exit.
I have to admit, though, that the subplot, borrowed from Singin’ in the Rain, about a silent movie being converted into a talkie even as it’s being shot at the Abbey, had me climbing out of my chair.
Even in the Roaring Twenties, you didn’t dub an actor’s dialogue by having the actor mime on camera, while the voice artist recites the lines off camera, with the sound recorded live.
If I had everything my own way, GLoP will be done weekly.
I tried to make it through season 1 of Picard and just turned it off in total frustration. So dumb, nobody acts like their TNG characters, way too concerned with The Message. Also, when did the Romulans suddenly turn into Space Samurai?
I’ve only followed what happened in season 2 via the RedLetterMedia guys. By all accounts it looks like even more of a train wreck than season one was. And now seeing how Paramount is bringing back the entire TNG crew (except Wesley, heh heh heh) for season three, I imagine that the numbers for the first two seasons must’ve been pretty dire.
John, Jonah, hell even Rob, if you have not seen RedLetterMedia, please set aside an afternoon and go through their library. Here’s their discussion of Picard Season 2: https://youtu.be/SP2HJ_XppbU
Just got back from this movie, having never seen the show or other movie. I was wondering about that dubbing thing.
I agree. It was so violent, vulgar that it wasn’t Star Trek. Immensely disappointed that Patrick Stewart would not only participate in the destruction of his own character, but would write and orchestrate much of it. Its his own legacy, his piece of pop culture that is being vandalized here.
Tarantino no longer has to make a Star Trek movie – they already did it without him.
As I recall, Stewart announced even before season 1 started being made, that he wanted it to be anti-conservative, and especially anti-Trump.
And Irish too, weren’t they? Or was that just Picard’s housekeeper/maid?
What a disappointment.
After the talk about network executives schtupping someone they weren’t supposed to schtup, Rob starts telling his story about a first-in-the-morning meeting at NBC where the room hadn’t been cleaned up from the day before…
I was sure he was going to say something about some form of leftover evidence of schtupping.
I’m curious as to what the experience of seeing the film was like, to somebody who was coming to these characters for the first time. Did you like it? Did it make sense? Did the characters come to life, even though you were not familiar with their backstories?
A correction: The Amazon Lord of the Rings series is based on works that precede the Lord of the Rings. (Silmarilion, etc.). They can’t use the characters from Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
But they can use the title? Seems odd.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set at the end of the Third Age. The Amazon series is based on the some writings from The Lord of the Rings where Tolkien outlined events from the Second Age. Amazon is taking this outline, and fleshing it out a lot. They are also changing the timeline a lot. They are also woking it up. A few of the characters from Lord of the Rings are used – some very long lived elves. The Silmarilion, which covers the First Age in much greater detail than Tolkien ever wrote on the Second Age, is not used. The Silmarilion is episodic and so would be better for a TV show rather than movies. But the rights are owned by the Tolkien family and is not up for sale, as least for now.
https://lrmonline.com/news/what-material-does-amazon-have-the-rights-to-for-the-rings-of-power-answered/
George Carlin had some funny stuff, but he was one of those guys who made something of a career of tearing down American culture, and then acted surprised when American culture collapsed.
I don’t think Rob ever told his second story, after the Garry Shandling one.
One thing that helped with Star Trek: The Next Generation getting better, was the passing of Gene Roddenberry.
I hope someone corrects Jonah about “Strange New Worlds” being “good.”
Being ‘good’ … its an improvement over Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks… Its not Good in comparison to the older treks – or other sci-fiction franchises that it frequently plagiarized from.
To paraphrase “American President” Fans are so thirsty for Star Trek that they’ll crawl through the sand to a mirage, and when they discover no water, they’ll drink the sand…
Strange New Worlds is still in the mirage phase, it’ll show itself to be morally bankrupt and profoundly stupid, soon enough…
Well but there’s no reason to do that, there’s plenty of Star Trek already in existence – and there always will be – to satisfy thirsts.
As I think @jameslileks has pointed out, the proportion of good Star Trek to bad Star Trek is better than the proportion of good Star Wars to bad Star Wars, in large part because there’s just so much more of Star Trek.
But if they keep making
badawful Star Trek, that might change.I would also point out that our hosts disparaged Discovery without apparently realizing that “Strange New Worlds” is more or less a spin-off from Discovery (that’s where SNW got started) and brings the Social Justice etc dreck with it as a result. A prime example being the all-female bridge crew, except for Pike himself, and Spock. Which are basically just member-berries in this context. (As I recall, Discovery at least started out with a totally female bridge crew, including captain and XO, at least in terms of humans.)
I think it took a few minutes to get into, but once the movie people came it was easy enough to follow. It was enjoyable enough, though I’m probably missing something.
I’ll never watch the series or the movie, but I guess I’ll mention here that in the latest “Mad Dogs And Englishmen,” Charlie CW Cooke said the movie is awful.
100% behind you. It was a great episode.
Something I just noticed about the series: the central figures are “Lord and Lady Grantham”, played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern. In real life, Grantham is the name of Margaret Thatcher’s home town.
I’m sure the BBC dislikes the conservative tendency of the series, with relations between the classes at Downton Abbey marked by care and affection, instead of conflict and exploitation. But Julian Fellowes is simply too successful for them to mess with.
I shall go to my grave not understanding how anyone could ever find Woody Allen funny.
Enjoyed the episode! Shall be going to see Downton with my folks tomorrow night. It will be nice to spend a couple of hours with those characters again.
Probably a New Yawk thing. Or at least the East Coast more generally.
OK, how many times is Rob going to tell the story about the Ferengi at the meeting? I’ve heard it three times now, each with different details.
Oh let him have his glory days…
Its one of the few stories not covered by the NDA.
Data point of 1, but I’ve been in New York exactly one afternoon and Take the Money and Run paired with Mel Brooks’ The Producers (seen in Southern California in early 1970) is the funniest–painfully funny– double-bill I can remember. Maybe it’s like the running joke in Stardust Memories where people tell the director character that they enjoy his films “especially the early, funny ones.”
Incidentally, his stand-up still does.
Okay y’all. I’ve been listening to the Tommy John commercials for years. It worked, I wear them almost exclusively. But, Father’s Day and hubby birthday coming up, I thought I’d get some of those fancy “pocket mesh” drawers for Mr. Goddess. But the TJ has many many styles that this could be. Does anyone know which pair is the one the boys get the giggles when reading the ad? P.S. Tommy John in having a 20% off sale for Memorial Day.
Last day for the second “episode” of May.
It really would be easier to get in two episodes per month, if they didn’t wait until 3 weeks in to do the first.
Halfway through June, and no first “episode” of the month yet.