853fisher

I finally watched the latest of so many versions of this show! I gave it a miss because it seemed a bit frenetic and new-fashioned for me, compared to the reruns I so enjoy. I wish I hadn't waited, because I really enjoyed it. I thought it updated the look and feel of things pretty well without changing the spirit. I still prefer the old shows, but that's my problem. 😉 Mama Doris really does add very little for me, but I don't quite dislike her either. I think her station ought to be moved next to Anthony's if she's going to participate in the antics as she does, since I somehow find the spectacle of running across the stage to do whatever really aggravating. A lot of these panel shows work well when recurring personalities have a sense for each other, so they might as well fully integrate her into the physical space. Gillian Jacobs was an absolute delight. She seemed genuinely happy to be there and very engaged in the stories. Joel McHale and Tom Lennon, on the other hand, were a bit much for me in the "dude-acting-over-it" department, although I generally like them both. The rest were fine. The questioning can be a little aimless, but the game's not played for money anymore and the jokes are funny, so it doesn't really bother me. The days of men- and women-about-town who knew a little about everything, like Kitty Carlisle or Bennett Cerf, are behind us. One of these days I'll get over that and move into 2020. We'll see. The last round of the second episode was just fantastic. Elvira and the disguise maven? I never saw it coming! Whoever books their guests must have a wonderful time.

I'm still enjoying this show and wish it got a bit more attention. The ratings are not bad: "Family Feud," "Wheel of Fortune," and "Jeopardy!" are the consistent top three among syndicated game shows, but "25 Words" has been consistently fourth recently. I find it an easy and engaging 20 minutes while I work around the house and don't miss an episode. I think it's great that they put all the shows on YouTube!

Well, we can all go home now, we have an unequivocal defense of Lea from...the traditionally hot white man who played her boyfriend for a little while. He thinks Lea was just peachy to work with! Hmmmmmm.

"Shit in your wig" is what I can't shake. I guess many people might be wearing wigs at a TV studio. But to talk to a black woman about a wig makes me think about all the remarks and assumptions some make about black hair. Maybe I've overthought it, I don't know. I honestly didn't remember the character Samantha played at all, until I saw a photo, including the character's gorgeous natural hair. Something I've come to understand over the past few years is that racism isn't binary. I was raised in politically moderate surroundings and the general sense, I think, was that racists were cross-burners or George Wallace or a public figure caught using a slur. That kind of behavior was unequivocally bad, everyone around me agreed, but if you applied the label of "racist" or "racism" to anything else, how could you make such an association? I've ultimately had to accept that some of my behavior and perspectives have been racist. OK, what does that mean? Am I a wicked person? No, it means I need to educate myself, unpack my expectations, and do better. I have been racist in spite of the fact that I would always have said, and sincerely meant, that I think people of color are equal to everyone else. That's just a fact. I don't doubt that Lea would also say, and sincerely mean, the same thing about race. We seem to generally agree that she definitely has baggage around people she considers her career inferiors or those who aren't going to be useful to her. Right off the bat I think there are usually intersectional issues of race and privilege affecting who the people someone like this deems worthy are. A lot of people of color from a lot of different productions or phases in Lea's career seem to have gotten a similar impression of her. That's not nothing. I admit that I felt momentarily bad for her in light of the consequences. I was already unpacking why I felt that way, instead of focusing more on those who felt belittled by her, when I read her terrible non-apology. Wasn't she supposedly at one point paid $80K per episode, and it couldn't buy her representation that would tell her this wasn't going to fly, if she couldn't come to that realization herself? There really is no excuse. I hope someone in her life has the backbone to explain to her what this is about. Set her career aside. She can, as an individual, think about how to become anti-racist and not simply "not racist." I wish her well. Big yikes.

I'm not sure whether I think celebrities or civilians would be a bigger draw, but if they do go with celebrities again, perhaps they could all support a charity in support of frontline workers or social justice. For everyone this season who seemed to support a legitimate organization they cared about, there seemed to be another who was playing for a vanity cause or whatever was going on with Nikki Glaser and how flip she was about her choice. Personally, I often find it very saccharine and overdone when game shows choose to feature "hometown heroes" etc. See "Spin the Wheel" this season, for instance. I'm a cynic, I know, but the inspiration porn bores me and the people chosen as deserving seem sometimes not to represent a cross-section of our society. By which I mean specifically, too many square-jawed Eagle Scouts from "the heartland" and all that. It just doesn't appeal to me. I like a general assortment of civilians, but if they were going to pick them with a message, I think I'm happy as things are. (And yes, I know some find Hollywood personalities equally homogenous and alienating.) I don't know who I expected Anderson Cooper to bring, but it wasn't Andy Cohen. Interesting.

"Final Hour" was pretty bad. But I thought "party in my pants" was worse. At least they could've said "in my shorts / shohts." That's one of the words that's stuck in my mind the way my New Hampshirite grandmother pronounces it. It's not a bad idea to try these themed episodes to keep things fresh. It wasn't overbearing, but a nice little frame. The questions and panel made for a good season premiere. I've been watching reruns going back to the 70s and 80s since I've been at home more often and am glad to have one of my favorite games back with new episodes. I did feel a little funny watching a cop-themed episode under present circumstances, but there wasn't anything at all controversial, mercifully.

Before I read the comments, I was going to say that nothing Ru could've done to style herself would've made her lose credibility as much as doing half a luchador mask and nothing else. Thanks for proving me wrong. I think the production team, and the queens themselves, are to be commended for making lemonade. We could hardly have asked for a more coherent or professional result under the circumstances. I thought it all came together well. I said two weeks ago that I'd be happy whoever won of these three, and I meant it, but I was certainly pleased for Jaida. I think it was a great season in the end. I did think Aiden looked great. And apropos of nothing else, Rachel Bloom looked fantastic and seemed to be having lots of fun. I don't really know her but I'd like to see her again.

I really wanted to like this. How could we go wrong with Greg Daniels and a great cast? Unfortunately, for me, we did. In a fundamental way, I didn't find it at all funny. I'm almost three episodes in and I could count my laughs on one hand. I read a review which touched on the idea that the series was pitched at a time when the real-world Space Force was just the subject of yet another tweet, but of course now it is a very real thing. I think timing has to do with why the show and I didn't vibe. I might have felt differently three or four months ago, but after 100K dead and thousands of individuals and businesses crushed, as I confirm that my market isn't one of the businesses now closed indefinitely and plan my grocery run so I can be back home before our new curfew, a sitcom the gist of which is "lol, these incompetent hacks in our government!" just isn't very funny to me. I'm sure some would say I need a sense of humor, but other shows are still very funny to me, just not this one. I might even feel differently if there was anything particularly incisive or witty, but there isn't. All I'm getting are tired plot lines like a troubled teen daughter, a few lazy or crude jokes like the guy from AL who couldn't pronounce "acai" or the 30sec bit about whether someone was wearing panties, and half a yuk with soundalike names. A PR guy named "Scarapiducci"? Congress's "Pitosi," "Schugler," and "the angry young woman from NY, Anabela Ysidro-Campos"? Boy, I wonder who those are! But then we don't go anywhere. Why bother putting Kudrow's character in jail and connecting her to nothing? Who thought that asinine chimp plot was worth all the time spent on it? How can we be expected to care about the culture shock plot line with the daughter when it's almost exclusively tell-don't-show? Is this really the last thing we're going to get to see Fred Willard in? I have so many questions. I've tried to choose my words carefully, because I know this isn't really the place for political talk, but I don't know how to react to a sort of political workplace comedy without touching on this. I can't root for a fictionalized version of a real-life half-baked boondoggle, even if its chief seems to be a nice guy. I can't laugh at a tweet about "boobs on the moon, but we think he means boots" when this weekend's real-life tweets are full of racist tropes, incitement of violence, and other sideshows. I either need my entertainment to be sharper parody or stay away from these very real things. Perhaps it gets better after the start. I don't know. I'm glad that others perhaps less tightly wound than me enjoyed it, but I think this was an ill-conceived mess and an utter waste of my time and a lot of good talent.

I think it's telling how few people seem to care about this.

I guess she thought she’d like to keep it on?

I'm happy for remaining fans, but if it were me, I would've taken this show out back and shot it a few years ago. I think ABC might drag it along to season 30, do an All-Stars run, and call it a day. But I'd love to be proven wrong by a gangbusters season. When I read the news elsewhere, I looked back to when this was appointment TV for me, and I find it difficult to succinctly encapsulate all the changes I've disliked. I think most of my wish list is unlikely, but if nothing else, I don't think it would be a bad thing if present circumstances lead to a paring-down so that every third performance isn't an overbaked production number. "Back to basics" could be a philosophy to interest me. Now, the logistics. "Let's Dance" has been running in Germany and Sweden since mid-March, neither with a studio audience. The German contestants have apparently been sequestered together, with one withdrawal due to an illness in his family and a pro missing a week due to his own illness. The Swedish show has seen three withdrawals (an 80ish singer just before the series started, a TV doctor after he placed dead last in the first week who said he wanted to do his part in the health service, and a comedian who got sick two weeks later) and skipped one week here and two weeks there due to ongoing illness. If I had to guess, ABC will wait for springtime this time. Things will, gods willing, be easier then. It's difficult to imagine they would want to try this fall. What do we all think?

I'm going to miss the show this summer. It was renewed, but the scuttlebutt is that they didn't get taping done in time because of *gestures at everything*. Perhaps we'll get lucky later in the year?

Deadline reports that WWTBAM? has indeed been picked up for '20-'21. Kimmel will return with more celebs playing for charity. No word yet on when exactly we should expect this.

I'm also disappointed. I think this show had more to show us. I will be looking out for Haneefah Wood, who played Wilma, elsewhere. I'd be happy to see Mellor and Glascott back on "Goldbergs," although school storylines are really played out there with only Adam still there, so I'm not sure. I guess this isn't the year to hope they'll book other pilots...

I've made up my mind to watch more of ABC's summer game shows, in the hopes that my +1 to the ratings may inspire more. "Millionaire" was never my favorite, but this run has been pleasant and brought back many memories of what I liked about it. The production design is pretty spot on, modernizing or freshening what we knew just enough. Jimmy can be very funny at times but he's not quite the host I want for this show. He's maybe a bit too glib? Or lacks gravitas? Neither of those are exactly the words I want, but I guess it's intangible. He strikes me as trying just a bit too hard. Different styles of humor, I guess. He came closest to what I wanted while talking out Catherine's last question. I share the general very low opinion of Phil and cringed when I saw his name. I admit I didn't mind speeding through the early questions, and while I wanted to see more of her, Pam was very gracious about being essentially ignored. (Of course, if it were me, I'd check everything with my guest, knowing the way my mind works.) But when we got to the end of the episode and they used those "_ Minutes Late," I had to cackle. I've just started to recognize how editors work, after all the years of TV I've watched, and the same trick was used on Sherry Pie in this year's "Drag Race." (For those not following, it she was disqualified after the season taped due to sexual misconduct.) If the intent had been for Phil to be "in on the joke," it could've been presented differently. But they wanted us to roll our eyes at him, and I appreciate that. It was a somewhat tough question for me, only because I started second guessing myself, wondering about an island or something. Of course this run isn't about the "gotchas" so I shouldn't have. The preponderance of Jeopardy! champs the contestants hadn't known before, and no other trivia experts other than Ike's actual friend from the trivia league I see a few of us play in, makes me wonder whether ABC is planning something new in primetime for us. It seemed very pointed otherwise. We'll see!

I read at a usually-accurate source for spoilers that elimination sequences were filmed for both Crystal and Jackie. I hadn't realized that was the custom, and am not sure when the decision is made. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't look like there'll be a reprieve for the fourth place contestant, but whichever one of that pair had left, I would've been glad to see them in the final. Anyway, the three who did make it are all very worthy. Gigi has resonated the least with me throughout the season, even though her looks have impressed me. My understanding of what she was going for with her look on the night was something like "still a regular girl under all this fashion," but I would've preferred that she'd shown, not told. I felt I didn't get a real sense of her personality as the edit panned out. Everyone did very well in the musical performance, although I guess I found it a bit trite in parts. Am I a dreadful cynic? It was all a bit over-produced for me, mixed with what I'm sure was sincere sentiment. Gigi's lines seemed especially meaningful given what she's shared about her gender identity. RE Sherry, I'm glad we won't have to see her at all anymore. I found that her lyrics dovetailed pretty disturbingly with the details of her wrongdoing and was surprised they weren't cut, awkward though that would've been. I had to roll my eyes at her voiceover about keeping the memories of all these old legends alive. She portrayed Katherine Hepburn as a Parkinson's-affected husk and wore a feathered gown with none of Mae West's attitude but called it inspired by her anyway. It wouldn't make me want to learn more! Last bit: I really do wish this show could be captioned by someone who knows queer culture, or how to spend a minute or two researching something. Those references are often not rendered correctly. "May West" was this week's particular clinker, in my mind. It's relatively minor, but I wish it would be fixed.

I thought that was a fitting conclusion. The past few years, I've still actively looked forward to watching, but found my interest dwindling during the episodes themselves. Even with this finale, I admit I zoned out a little, and didn't immediately understand at whose order Jorge was killed. I think they could have kept my interest better by spreading some of the twists introduced near the end of this season in particular over a longer arc. Frank's spinning out didn't feel "earned" to me, for example, because we had no time to see the effect of his newfound knowledge on his life. I'm disappointed by how unlikable Oliver became, and I was a little sorry to see them together at the funeral. He's probably the character I think changed for the worst over the course of the series. Michaela, meanwhile, remained totally herself. She lost a lot of her integrity, but retained her ability to reason through things, however cynically at times. Tegan was a wonderful introduction relatively late in the game, although my goodness, I certainly rolled my eyes at the profession of love with a life-or-death verdict hanging over her head. Talk about self-absorbed! Ah well. I appreciated the way this show approached issues of identity and brought together a great cast I can look forward to seeing in other projects. My last very long year of college was improved by the K5's adventures, as they took over after "Downton Abbey" ended as what I watched every week with dear friends who had graduated. They did not make it to the bitter end, but we'll always have the memories!

I concur with everyone. That was a pleasant and easy hour, although it dragged a little for me. Everyone came to play, especially Retta. Were some of the questions a bit harder than usual, or has my brain just atrophied because of the pandemic? I was totally useless in the scrambled faces round and am not even sure if I had ever heard all the "songs sung wrong." It's a good thing Red Nose Day wasn't relying on me to play. 😉 I don't watch very much broadcast TV anymore, but NBC has really been the place to be for me since this all started. Between this and the "Parks & Rec" special, they've really made lemonade and created some interesting things for us to watch.

Ah, thank you! I'm not surprised I didn't get it. I simply can't relate to that. 😉

I am looking forward to seeing more of Heidi. What was the joke about paying her taxes? That went right over my head. Crystal really did do well and may be peaking at just the right time. I continue to be very much here for what she, Jackie, and Jaida are serving overall. Gigi still has gorgeous looks but is not there for me on charisma. She can grow into it. Nitpicks! For the Dahlia bit to be funny, she has to wear a look that doesn’t make me think she’d rather be literally anywhere else. I mean, that girl looked, I guess you would say, steamed. And I wonder whether we ever would’ve heard that Sherry went over 5min in the original edit? I hated that I thought her act looked good. Now I’m off to listen to “1999” again.

Taping has been completed, so I think we will have to wait for a future cycle. 🙂

The cast has been announced for Season 5. I think it certainly has great potential. It will also not be on Showtime, which I think is the right choice.

Wow, I see that now! I know her well from "Match Game" and other Goodson-Tidman game shows of the 70s and 80s. Both of them are definitely real originals. (Off-topic, but if anyone is looking for more generally feel-good TV, Buzzr is a newish classic game show channel that also broadcasts free online. Lots of Jo Anne, Brett and Charles, Kitty Carlisle serving lewqs to rival Ru, etc. It's keeping me sane-ish!)

I loved that. I really needed it. I expected we'd get the core cast, which would've been delightful enough, and wouldn't've dreamed of so many recurring characters too. Just about everything else I can think to say has already been said poetically above... except that I forgot Ron and Tammy are married in real life, and I was just so very impressed that they managed to get Megan in there. I've seen cute tricks done by applying a video background to Zoom, but couldn't imagine how they made it look so seamless! I mean, it really looked like she was there in the workshop. Golly, I could not believe it! Thank goodness I have a few things going for me besides my wits. 😉

Thanks! I've been thinking about it but seen very mixed reviews from friends. I suppose I have plenty of time to explore it these days. 😉 I wonder whether her middle name isn't "The." I found a website that seems to belong to her that uses "Janet T. Planet."