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That's a good comparison - except that at least at one point Kanye actually had some great material. This was a low energy performance of C - work at best. And I FFed too as soon as I knew it was coming up - I completely missed Taylor Swift at first and was really confused when Pete was thanking her. I thought it was some sort of joke before I saw she was actually there.

I know I'm a broken record here, but since TNT stopped airing the series I honestly don't believe anyone airing the series has given much thought to the content. Even networks that theoretically should care like Sundance. The syndicated cuts with censoring designed so that the episode can air at 6pm in Omaha without drawing too many complaints leave more time to air Medicare commercials and happened to be easily available when digital subchannels started proliferating so that is what is aired. I believe that the 15th became the favorite "dirty" precinct partly as a wink towards the competition at NYPD Blue. Don't have any citation, but I do remember that when Lt. Fancy got pulled over by a racist cop they wer from the 2-7... It's complicated as the real-life NYPD keeps adjusting their approach and shifting responsibilities between precinct detective squads and specialized units based on the Patrol Boroughs and who takes the lead on which cases when. In the beginning it seemed to be more of a precinct squad that even dealt with some serious non-homicide crimes. It migrated to more of Manhattan North Homicide before eventually seeming to range over just about all of Manhattan from Harlem to Wall Street.

Possibly also beneficial to anyone who sees the caller ID pop up during a meeting. I'm sure if he ducks out to take a call he'd rather have some network VP see the code name and assume he is talking to Steve Carell and not Mo Rocca....

I have not seen the episodes or anything else on Charge. But given what is described here including sloppy cuts to commercial, it is probably a matter of greed/sloppiness rather than any moral qualms. The people who make the decisions about buying and selling the "content" don't actually care about anything other than the money, and if they save a few bucks by not having to pay anyone to keep track of what edits are actually being sent so much the better. So there is no actual logic to what is censored etc. - they made the cuts at some point for somebody who cared - and it was what was in the file when they sent if off. TBH I'm really surprised at this point that one of the digital subchannels or cable overnight packages hasn't broadcasted CI in a foreign language for a week or two without noticing...

Yeah some reason. Can't possibly imagine why they would promote one more than the other...

And only Fenway is a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland...

Given the news the last couple of weeks it seems like they needed to add some more to the warning...

‘The Office’ Reboot Reportedly in Works From Original Co-Creator Greg Daniels 'The Office' Reboot Reportedly in the Works After Strike The Office Reboot Update Clarifies Status & Timeline Of Reported Show

There is a difference between airing out of production order and airing what is effectively a trip into a L&O multiverse of madness without any reason other than they had it in the can. I'm actually surprised NBC agreed to air it as it TBH. And I've been fine I just haven't been around as much due to a combination of factors including schedules and Dick Wolf's "eccentric" approach to his streaming and syndication deals combined with changes in the digital subchannels meaning I don't see as much of the early seasons as I used to so I don't have as much to say. In universe I would say that McCoy always gave the impression of being a bit more of a scapper who might just punch you back harder. Both in universe and IRL NYC was a bit less "gritty" and prone to spontaneous violence in the McCoy seasons compared to the early years. On a meta or BTS level SW was much less likely than MM to inspire the writers to want to do to his character on the page what they couldn't do to him in person if they wanted to keep their jobs. (Kind of the same reason Greevey went out in a less than heroic fashion...)

I will defend them in this limited instance and say that this is a choice that actually makes sense as it allows the viewer to see the "rough draft" and how it developed. The stupidity is actually in ever putting in on the air in the first place without at least reshooting with Steven Hill. I mean even shows facing serious budget crunches who are forced to put their unaired pilots on air at least tried to make it fit into continuity. The least they could do was make it a two-parter and have Ben Stone defying orders to make a deal and it being revealed he is trying to bring to justice the corrupt city officials who arranged a hit that left DA Wentworth in a wheelchair unable to speak as we see flashbacks to the case...

It very well may have been case of art imitating life. VDO going through his own exhaustion and health issues may simply not have been capable of bringing the same energy and vitality to the role so they had to try to come up with some dramatic explanation - it isn't like he was a secondary character that they could simply write his health issues in like they did with Bell's Palsy. So they hit him with Warren Leight's Sledgehammer of Family Drama and played up the angle of traditional cops not really trusting him despite the results. They get the attention because they are still around and because in the beginning there really was an intense and organic chemistry. Plus unlike other pairings that might have been comparable this one features a performer that has been perfectly willing to lean into it and actively worked up the shippers to service her ego. As have the network, the showrunners, etc.

It's also been established that there is an element of trust involved as well - unless you were exceptionally attuned to the force (i.e. Yoda) you were vulnerable to a surprise attack from a trusted ally (such as your clone troopers under your command) whereas you would easily deflect the same from a stranger or enemy. So it's not just a matter of numbers (although that did play a role) it's a matter of not having their guard up.

To be fair NYC has always been a character in the franchise. And as I've mentioned before the spinoffs have always been most successful when they have something different to offer from the original and the biggest problem with this series was it was too similar to the original, so I can totally understand why they were putting LA front and center. I do think it would have been better to focus on another aspect of LA since the city does not lack for distinctive local flavor that still ties in to national issues and the franchise had already covered the industry pretty thoroughly, but there were a lot of missed opportunities with this series so that's par for the course.

Translation - "My EP and booker are telling me we won't get anyone good and that will go on past the strike. I don't want to burn all my bridges and piss off the A-list guests that come on because I used to be good and gave them exposure when they were starting because that would mean having to actually work hard again. Also Scott Carter explained to me that pissing all over the unions trying to put limits on AI is not a good move for someone who spends most of their time doing variations on the same old jokes and has decades of tape for the CGI folks to use..."

I'd honestly be very surprised if they don't explain it by the end of the series. And a little surprised if it's a not a good explanation. I suspect we will see him by the end of the series and that he's not there for story reasons as much as trying to cut down on CGI. The story is about the tensions within the Rebels family and ending up in different places after the war and you can't have the character there who would bring them together and find common ground. Maybe it's as simple as him being out of contact when the lead came in, but I would not be shocked to also find that he's been off a side quest that will play a role in the resolution.

So what you're saying is "size matters not"? Good luck trying to get space fascists to believe that. I did love the fight too - not only the choreography and the triumph of style over substance, but the way it casually dispensed with the tertiary villain with a cool design who turned out to be just another goon. Not only a good choice but a nice balance to the callbacks and connections that otherwise filled the episode - even to the point of having Ahsoka call Thrawn the "heir to the Empire".

Producer credits can mean just about anything or nothing. In general when a writer is listed as an Executive Producer it means they are either the creator, the showrunner, the showrunner's top lieutenant, or they were brought in as a consultant to help with the development of a series or to try to revamp an existing series. It can also mean that they developed or created the series and are still getting checks even if they have left or were kicked out. I believe that in this case it meant he was a senior writer as he did take over as showrunner at one point. And I do know what you mean. I think a big part of why the show was so well executed in the early years is that there were a lot of L&O alumni in various production roles. Unfortunately writing for Law & Order during the peak years does not necessarily mean you can work miracles on a different police drama with an aging diva star pushing an agenda as anyone who watched SVU during the past decade knows...

They don't want Jimmy Fallon to feel left out?

Interesting if true for a number of reasons. First, Netflix is known for have the best data collection and most sophisticated analysis of viewer behavior, as well as the most accurate forecasting. So it would seem that they are seeing an impact and that a more prolonged strike is going to be very damaging to the bottom line - I doubt Stranger Things alone, no matter how powerful, would cause them to take drastic action. Also because a lot of people had thought Netflix would be the relative winner with their catalog and their success with international productions. And they were also one of the pioneers of the new business models that caused the strike in the first place, so if they're willing to seriously look at changes it would seem to be proof positive that it's not essential to impoverish creators in the the streaming age as the producers are arguing.

I am shocked. Mind completely and utterly blown. Bill is admitting going on a date to the movies with a woman in her 30s???!!!

Well for one "The Emmy goes to"...

Just saw Lorraine Toussaint in Shakespeare in the Park in NYC playing Gertrude in Hamlet along with a number of other guest performers. It was a great production although sadly for old school L&O fans she does not hand anyone their ass on a platter.

I think you meant to say "Praise the Lord!"

Maybe not - the US Government in this world works differently from ours. For example the CIA Director seems to be confirmed by a Committee vote and not the full Senate. But in any case given the Category 5 Shit Storm that would be coming after what was just revealed about the Senator's involvement there is no way that any politician is going to take any public action against them.

My guess is that they're not intentionally playing both sides as much as conflicted. The Interlude episode seemed to show that they were both basically good kids who grew up in a very screwed up family and are now torn between two sides. Eli talked about how his sister smacked them and we saw how their dad wasn't always this way. So even if they don't really want violence they also don't want to reject their father in favor of their mom and their rich relatives who always looked down on them. Or maybe it's all a huge con to get revenge on Eli and bring him down. Who can be sure with these writers?