Last year, I watched Hulu's original documentary, Too Funny to Fail: The Dana Carvey Show, which I found intriguing. I was one of the hundreds of millions of Americans who watched Coach instead, so I'd never actually seen the seven aired episodes, let alone the eighth unaired final one. I wanted to like it, I really did. There are a few genuinely inspired bits, but it's easy to see why this show didn't catch on. It's a curiosity to me as an artifact of mid-90's America. There are quite a few bits that are surely not going to sit well with viewers in 2020, and I can already hear the defense that "Things were lighter then, people knew how to take a joke". I don't know that I'm inclined to accept that defense, having now watched the series in its entirety. I can't fathom watching something like the sketch of the Oscar presentation for Best Foreign Language Animated Short Film without cringing, even in 1996. Each nominee mistakenly thinks his name being called out in the introduction means he's won, rushing to the stage to give a premature acceptance speech. Conceptually, the gag relies on the idea that foreigners are too stupid to understand the difference between the reading of nominees and the announcement of the winner. That's problematic at best, but it's the performances by Carvey and Steve Carrell in yellow and brown face as a South Korean and Iranian, respectively, that are just dreadful.

The show does, however, also take potshots at the far right. Pat Buchanan's bigoted ideology is called out directly in at least two different skits, with one referring to him indirectly as Adolf Hitler. There's also the recurring skit "Skinheads From Maine", in which Carvey and Stephen Colbert sit in rocking chairs outside a cabin in plaid flannel shirts, making banal chatter, casually inserting white supremacist notions. In one, for instance, Carvey's character observes that the weather is nice; Colbert's character affirms that it is, and adds that "the weather's the only thing the Jews don't control." As I watched those skits, what I saw was the naïveté of the era, presuming that those ideologues were being so well contained that they would quickly follow the dodo to extinction. We were wrong about that, and it was genuinely painful for me to watch those skits, knowing that while Carvey and his audience were content to regard them as a throwaway punch line, in reality they were simply biding their time before reemerging as the existential threat we face today.

I'd be lying if I said I hated The Dana Carvey Show, but I'd be lying if I said I loved it, and at least fibbing if I said I liked it. The doc was considerably more engaging and interesting.

Finally took the plunge and began Twin Peaks this morning. I made it through the pilot and first season before tearing myself away. Some of its humor feels too incongruous with what the rest of the show is, but I do appreciate the attempted balance with levity. This show definitely has some things to say about adults underestimating what teens are capable of doing, and also of what adults are responsible for doing to teens. It goes a bit far in some areas, but overall I think it's a franker acknowledgement of those generational dynamics than we usually see on a screen or even hear in everyday conversations.

That said, the show obviously has no real interest in the teenage aspect of its characters, explicitly identifying them as 18 (necessitated in part by the legal nature of some of the situations they're put into) and I have to wonder why they bothered making them high school seniors instead of freshmen at a local community college, or at least just recent high school grads. At one point, Agent Cooper rebuffs advances from Audrey, noting that in his day, Wednesday was a school night. I'd forgotten they were supposed to even still be in school until he said that.

That quibble aside, I really enjoyed the first season, and I'm looking forward to starting the second here shortly. My two chief frustrations with contemporary movies and TV shows are either a fixation on plot twists for the sake of being cleverer than the audience, and loading stories with callbacks. Throughout its pilot and first season, Twin Peaks is a shining example of how to do those things well. Aside from the Madeleine character, I never felt any plot point or character emerged out of the blue. I couldn't always see where a given plot point was going, but I could easily trace its path in hindsight and it all tracked. I wish more of our current storytellers would be as diligent, patient, and trusting of audiences.

That’s a good bit, and not included in Kid Gorgeous.

I’ve never been much of an SNL watcher so I didn’t know who Mulaney was until watching these specials.

Been watching a bunch of Falcon Crest, a soap drama from the 80s. I'm a sucker for shows like it, Dallas and Knots Landing. Finished the first season of His Dark Materials on HBO. I've never read the books, but really enjoyed it.
Started watching Centennial, the 70s miniseries. Nothing mini about it, being its over 26 hrs(!!) So far its really good, i love old westerns like Wagon Train and Gunsmoke, so this is right up my alley.

My wife was a huge Dallas and Falcon Crest fan. I mostly ignored Dallas (but did watch the last few seasons) but somewhat kept up with Falcon Crest just to see Susan Sullivan (I'd usually read a book/magazine but paid attention when she was on screen).

I never watched that one during its original airings. As much as anything because of all the press and "mass market" approach in its promotion and that I often don't much care for programs with the type of "buzz" that one generated. I few months back I tried watching it on Amazon but couldn't make it through the first episode - too much "artsy/innovative/odd angle" shots for "art's sake" (i.e. different just to say "Look what we're doing! It's different!") to suit me. In spite of that I purchased the UK BR "complete series" set because it was *very* inexpensive (~$15 IIRC). I'm thinking watching on disc will be a better experience than streaming on the PC.

I love Dallas! It figured prominently into my childhood, as both my parents watched it. After the divorce, it was a peculiar bit of continuity in my world to keep up with that series every Friday night regardless of who had me that weekend. Neither of them ever really explained much about what happened to me, so watching J.R. and Sue Ellen go at it over John Ross was one of the key models I had for understanding the greater context of what we'd all been through.

I found the revival series a little shaky, but that was to be expected. Josh Henderson quickly came into his own as John Ross, though, and I felt he was strong enough to keep the series going after the death of Larry Hagman. I think the key problem that series had was that it was a bit too edgy for older, original run viewers, and its legacy was off-putting for newer viewers who'd rather get into something all their own instead of join something with that much history. It's a shame, because not only was Henderson fantastic, but I felt it was important in the mid-10's to have a character like Bobby Ewing back in the landscape. It would be easy to make Bobby cynical and gritty to match J.R. It meant something to me that they didn't; that he continued to stand up to J.R. while continuing to embody the nobler traits of humanity: Kindness, patience, compassion. He wasn't a saint, and could be wrong about things. That made him human. It's easy to rank J.R. among the greatest TV characters of all time, and deservedly so, but if we're listing the most underappreciated important characters, Bobby Ewing is among my top ten.

I was oblivious to how it was promoted, but I'll confess I've shied away from it over the years in large part because I've felt intimidated by its reputation as a high brow artsy thing. Thankfully, exploring the Criterion Collection has helped me overcome much (but not all) of that intimidation. I'm fine with its cinematography, though I'm mindful of the things you've mentioned. It's the music more than anything that takes me out of the moment. I dunno if it's just the way it's mixed for CBS All Access or if that's just how it was, but the music often dominates, and it doesn't help that it's the same theme each time. It feels intrusive and clumsy. I made it through the first seven episodes of the second season earlier. I'm still interested, but I am keenly aware that they knew they had a full season to use. Some of the subplots feel more scattered and less urgent. I've still got quite a lot to go before I'll have anything definitive to say about it all, though.

Quite a lot was made of that score - like the photography, it was one of the draws. I really didn't notice the music on that partial episode viewing on Amazon so it'll be interesting to see how it plays on disc. I think I'll get it out and watch it - after all, I use this challenge to sometimes force myself to watch things I've put off.

Still playing catch up with The Wire - I'm through 9 episodes so far. I'm enjoying it and believe it's getting better. Still hasn't measured up to hype, so to speak.

I appreciate the recent comments on Dallas. I'm nearing the end of the 2nd season currently. I was familiar with the show while growing up but never watched it. Going in, I knew J.R. was to be the villain. I found it interesting that his behavior wasn't really the focus in the shortened 1st season (and if I read somewhere correctly, that was intended to be a stand-alone mini-series?). As soon as season 2 begins, his tendency to be a scoundrel ramps up and becomes more of a central point to each storyline.

I happened to get lucky yesterday and found the binder that has my Voltron DVDs. I still do need to stream some of the episodes though. The disc I put in today has some discoloration around the edge. Other shows I’m watching is the first GI Joe ​​​​​​ mini series. I watched part 1 yesterday. I have so many shows on either digital or disc that it is hard to choose what to watch, so I’m varying my watching.

Part of what I think makes J.R. so compelling is that everything he does is predicated on being for the good of the Ewing family. His concepts of what constitute being for the good of the family are often, uh, misguided, but they are entirely sincere. Don't we all declare casually that we'd do anything for our families? He actually does; ruthlessly, relentlessly, indefatigably. J.R. seeks power, fortune, and glory, but what he believes he seeks is the means of providing security for the family. Of course, how he actually treats his family is impossible to reconcile with that doctrine, which is where we get Bobby. He's also dedicated to the family, but he won't cross the lines J.R. will. In part, it's because he's creative enough to find alternative courses of action, but chiefly what gets him off the hook is that he doesn't impose on the family what his notions of what is good for them.

The other key to what makes J.R. so compelling for me is that he very clearly has mental health issues. The guy is consumed with depression and relentless insecurity. He's desperate for Jock's approval, and continues to seek that approval long after Jock's death. Every business venture is an attempt at earning that approval, but it's also the only high J.R. can enjoy. It's ephemeral, though, which is why he has to move on to the next immediately. He's incapable of truly experiencing joy, let alone contentment.

I'm at my son's house for the weekend (babysitting his kids, ages 3/6/7) while he and my daughter-in-law do a "mental health" weekend (rented a cabin an hour or so away). This will impact my watching.

So far, with the kids, I've seen several episodes/shorts of Rabbids Invasion (reminds me a great deal of Minions - very similar animation style, "talking," and plots) and Angry Birds Toons (both of which originated with video games). Rabbids Invasion is tolerable and occasionally funny/cute. I can't say the same about Angry Birds Toons. I've yet to see anything on that one that kept it on the air for 106 episodes, much less created at least one spin off series. While not TV, we watched Abominable last night. It felt much longer than its 1:37 run time.

After they went to bed I watched the first episode of Psych (2006) and enjoyed it. I'll be watching a few more episodes of this one to decide if I want to add a physical copy to my collection. It has a clever setup but I don't know if it can sustain that same cleverness across the entire series - at least enough to keep me interested.

I also watched the first episode of Cybill (1995), the series starring Cybill Shepherd and Christine Baranski. I watched that one during its original airings and mostly enjoyed it. I found it OK this time but will watch a few more episodes just because. Both of those are on Amazon Prime streaming.

I tried to watch an episode of Route 66 but fell asleep after ~10-15 minutes (it was late and a very long day). I'll try that one again. It's a show I've always heard good things about but have never seen. It came on opposite The Flintstones during the original airings so lost out on that one simple fact. My sister and I controlled the TV during early Prime Time (if my parents watched TV at all it was usually after we went to bed) and the HB Prime Time cartoons were "Must See TV" as far as we were concerned.

Funnily enough, Cybill Shepherd turns up on Psych as Shawn's mom. I loved the show, but I still have not seen the last two seasons. It was a show I watched with my wife. It was one of our few "appointment" shows. Pointing out pineapples to one another whenever and wherever we saw them became a running bit for us. On at least one occasion, I texted her a photo of a pineapple at the grocery. Even today, I catch myself spotting them and wanting to announce it. I didn't have it in me to watch it without her after we split, which was right when S6 premiered. A few years ago, I finally sat down and started going back through it on DVD. I was relieved to find I could enjoy it. There are some clunker episodes, same as any series, but when it's good, it scratches an itch no other show has. I still have never bought the last two seasons, though, so I've still not finished it. One day!

Interesting analysis on Dallas and J.R.'s character, Travis. Your thoughts about him having mental health issues affected the way I watched the next couple of episodes--I felt less disgusted and angered by his behavior and more sorry for him in a way.

I don't know if I'll make it all the way through The Wire, but I'm 1/3 of the way through season 2. Still enjoyable but I keep waiting for it to kick into another gear. The first season did end with a bang while this second season has started slowly again. I'm glad for the motivation to dig into something that had sat on the unwatched pile for a long time. I checked and I purchased this DVD set on ebay in July 2014. On the bright side, I snagged it for a little less than $25 (not sure if I used a coupon of some kind). It's $80 currently on Amazon and has never dropped much below $50 for the same set.

It took me awhile to warm to Psych. My wife and I were huge fans of Monk, and perhaps the sameness of it made it hard to watch back to back. But if eventually won me over. I’m an easy mark for the trope of quirky detective with amazing observational skills though, growing up on Colombo and also loving House and Sherlock. My DVR died at the end of the second to last season of Psych, and I still need to watch those last 25 or so episodes. Not sure how I’ve put it off this long.

Keeping up on The Wire, starting season three today. It’s still not ‘the greatest show ever’ so many claim, and did start slow again in season two, but the way it’s slowly engaging me in so many different character arcs is amazing. I’m thinking I need to keep plugging away a little each day to keep my mind wrapped around everyone. Not sure how anyone keeps track of shows like this with long gaps between seasons.

I love Psych especially the first few seasons and I still rewatch that show from time to time. That Bollywood episode stills cracks me up after all these years. The last 2 seasons however, were not that great. I haven't watched the last movie and I'm afraid to do that.

I'm currently in S3 of The Mentalist and I know that Psych makes fun of it but I really enjoy the show so far. I liked Monk up to certain point but felt more connected to Natalie and the Captain than to Monk himself.

I, too, like Monk. My wife and I watched it during the original airings and somehow stopped or missed the last season or two. I remedied that via disc. They were OK but I like the first few seasons the best and it took me a while to warm to Sharona's replacement. I do see similarities between it and Psych. Like Trevor I don't think I'd like watching them back-to-back due to those similarities.

Sorry but I'm Team Natalie and hated Sharona. It was even more evident when

The series eventually addresses J.R.'s mental health directly. Also, I would submit that being disgusted and angered by J.R.'s behavior and feeling sorry for him aren't mutually exclusive. He's driven by demons, but he's reading the map. He does have his moments, though, when you can see enough humanity in him to justify investing in him. There are even a few times when his ruthlessness is put to good and you cheer for him. He was definitely the reason I took so quickly to Tony Soprano!

While I *did* watch roughly the last half of Dallas with my wife I was never a huge fan. In spite of that I did enjoy Larry Hagman's "J.R. Ewing" and think he did a superb job in the role. From "Major Nelson" to "J.R." he proved he's one of the better actors of his generation able to play all kinds of roles in many genres. You don't see that too often. I was quite surprised when I found out his mother is Mary Martin (yep... Peter Pan).

Weird watching the pilot for Seinfeld. Different music and Jerry dad, Pete's Luncheonette instead of Tom's Restaurant, a waitress that would have made an awful recurring character, Kramer is some lethargic dude who never leaves the building, George with a successful job, and...no Elaine!

Still, you can see the makings of what was to come.

I finished a rewatch of S3 of Father Ted, a great UK show about 3 Irish Catholic priests and their housekeeper. Feck! Arse! Drink!

In one of the episodes Father Ted (Dermot Morgan) takes Father Jack (Frank Kelly) for an eye exam which he passes with flying colors. The optician says his vision seems to have improved and he read it better than her, going to the very small type at the bottom! The camera pans to show the eye chart with is DRINK and nothing else on every line. She swaps the chart to get a better reading. The new one has FECK ARSE on every line.

In that same episode, Richard Wilson (Victor Meldrew in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990)), makes a guest appearance as himself. Father Ted sees him and tries to get Father Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) to go up to him and say his catchphrase from One Foot in the Grave ("I don't believe it"). Father Dougal convinces Father Ted to do it instead. When he does, it royally pisses off Wilson who attacks him (according to IMDB Wilson dislikes saying his character's catchphrase ("I don't believe it!") and only performs the line for charity events for a small fee).

I discovered this one is also on Amazon Prime streaming. If you enjoy irreverent British/Irish humor you need to give this one a try.

Father Ted: It's not as if everyone's going to go off and join some mad religious cult just because we go off for a picnic for a couple of hours.
Father Dougal: God, Ted, I heard about those cults. Everyone dressing in black and saying our Lord's gonna come back and judge us all!
Father Ted: No... No, Dougal, that's us. That's Catholicism.

Twin Peaks S2 is such a mess that I genuinely wonder how the series survived with any fandom intact. Where the first season was methodical about what to reveal and when, the second season feels in a few places as though the entire direction of the show was being improvised in a single episode. It starts off strong, but seems to lose interest in itself after the opening arc concludes the investigation that started the series. That left two-thirds of the season to sort of meander and waffle about just what the hell it was. A procedural? A soap? Supernatural horror? Workplace comedy? It's not that I require a show pick one and stick to it; I enjoy stories that check several boxes rather than fit into one. It's just that I didn't feel like it was a complex show manifesting itself in different ways so much as an uncertain show throwing everything at the wall to see if it could find what might stick.

The best microcosm is the character Ben Horne. Initially, he's a shady, ruthless businessman who owns a brothel in Canada on the sly and hires contract killers. This is a guy who'd hold his own against J.R. Ewing or Tony Soprano. Then all of a sudden, he has a psychotic break and has an inexplicable fixation on the Confederacy winning the Civil War and only role playing General Robert E. Lee accepting the surrender of Ulysses S. Grant can the episode (mercifully) conclude. From there, he becomes a born-again environmentalist organizing events that serve primarily as a way of putting various characters together in social settings doing talent show stuff. If you plucked one episode from each arc and put them together, it would be impossible to accept that it's the same character. It may have been intended to play out as growth, but it doesn't. It feels like confusion and at times, desperation.

The emergence of Windom Earle as the new villain in the season's final arc did inject the show with some of the gravitas of its first season. I could easily see the influence that character had on Psych's Yin and Yang. Still, it was hard to fully invest in that when the show couldn't be bothered to commit itself. I can't believe Special Agent Cooper is taking seriously his former mentor playing a game of chess with human lives at stake when he goes off for an entire segment of an episode in the middle of it to go out all googley-eyed on a lake with Annie Blackburn. Even Shawn Spencer has more discipline than that!

Having said all that, there are enough successfully executed ideas and interesting/entertaining elements that when it was over, I wanted more. Though to be clear, I only wanted more of the good stuff.

I never knew there were kind of lighthearted episodes of Wanted: Dead Or Alive ​​​​​​, but I just finished watching one on H&I. Steve was hired to bring home a lady’s pet sheep.