Inquisitionist

Am I the only one who liked Mary's later-seasons hair? I thought it was very sophisticated, and I liked that she no longer tried to dress and groom herself as though she were still in her 20s. It struck me as a statement that she was comfortable with her maturity. But I do recall reading that MTM was having more difficulties managing her diabetes around that time, and that might have been showing up in her face regardless of her hair style.

Actually, it's explained at the start of this clip, where Ross says each team will answer 10 questions. There were 20 questions on the board for each team, and they got to strategize by choosing the categories.

Happened to watch 20 Hours in America: Part I recently and was delighted to see a couple of young fresh faces that looked familiar but took me a while to place. One was Amy Adams, playing the daughter of an Indiana farmer; the other was John Gallagher, Jr. as a lovesick teenager. Wondering if folks have spotted other young guest stars that surprised them on rewatch.

Dr. Sacks was an honorary director of the US Freedom From Religion Foundation. In 2013, he wrote:

Oliver Sacks, renowed neurologist whose book Awakenings was adapted into a lovely movie, has passed away at age 82. RIP to an extraordinary human being.

I just finished listening to the audiobook version of Rob Lowe's memoir. He's a great mimic, so listening rather than reading adds a fun dimension. According to Lowe's telling, Sorkin initially did not want "name" actors in the cast and he heard Lowe read for the part of Sam Seaborn somewhat reluctantly. The network then said Sorkin had to have at least one big name. This was before Martin Sheen signed on, so Lowe was the casting choice that got NBC to give the show a shot. Then he kind of got shunted aside, with very few storylines that focused on his character, and no serious consideration of adjusting his compensation once the show took off. After four years, he was ready to move on again. Can't say I blame him. BTW, Lowe was at a stage of his career where he never read for anything -- he had enough work out in view that producers could tell whether they wanted him for a part or not on that basis. So doing a reading at all was a big concession and something he did only because he really wanted the part. I heard John Mahoney speak about this phenomenon recently. He said the only director he would read for is Mike Leigh because he'd like the experience of working with him, and Leigh's style (with a lot of improvisation by actors he knows well) could legitimately require a "try out."

Alan Sepinwall also wants to know "what the hell happened between Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi" (around the 2:52 mark here).

Because that's how Candice Bergen won for Murphy Brown year after year? True comedy just doesn't get much respect, even from people who should know better.

Did Andre Braugher make a bad call on his Emmy episode submission?

Is this Carrie wearing the same dress in the photo shoot? I'd agree that she looks much better here.

I agree that the show's dynamic changed quite a bit with Rhoda's departure, but I can understand Valerie Harper wanting to do more with the role (or any role) than she was going to achieve by staying on MTM any longer. Betty White, as we all now know, was a revelation as Sue Ann Nivens. Whoever thought up that casting idea was a genius!

I think she could have finessed this if she didn't want to wear the dress. I think she loved it and actually did want to wear it, which is fine, but I disliked her using that as an excuse for sneakily ratcheting up the guest list from the 40 or whatever Big was initially expecting to, what, 200 by the end of it? People don't get to invite themselves to your wedding because of the dress you're wearing. Send them a copy of the magazine. ;-)

According to Patterson's IMDb bio:

I was fascinated by the languorous pacing in the screen test between Vivien Leigh and Melvin Howard. Too many of the scenes in the finished movie feel rushed to me, with Vivien Leigh almost racing to get the words out so they get move on to filming the next scene. How lovely it would have been, IMO, for GWTW to get the mini-series treatment. There were some great scenes between Scarlett and Rhett -- actual conversations -- that just didn't work for the nearly frenzied, "get to the heart of it" script treatment. Reading Chap. 19, for instance, I still feel the electrical charge between the two of them. The realities of war expressed by old Uncle Henry (a character excised from the film ) in this chapter are also moving. Heck, you could make several interesting movies about the lives of deleted characters, starting with Grandma Fontaine.

An interesting bit of trivia from an obituary for Bud Yorkin, who passed away on Tuesday:

Bud Yorkin, who partnered with Norman Lear on All in the Family, Sanford & Son, etc., has passed away at the age of 89. An interesting bit of trivia:

Maureen O'Hara just turned 95. She made Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939, but isn't really a star of the '30s, per se. Same for Kirk Douglas (98) whose first screen credit is from the mid-40s.

Of the 43 principal cast members listed at IMDb, only 2 are still alive: Olivia de Havilland, who turned 99 on July 1, and Mickey Kuhn, who played her son, Beau Wilkes (turning 83 next month). While several cast members lived well into their 80s and 90s, I was surprised by how many passed on before the age of 60. I was particularly sad to read to that Oscar Polk, who played Pork, died at 49 after being struck by a car. This is the same way that Margaret Mitchell died, at age 48.

Am I right or am I right or am I right? Right, right!

I highly recommend the "Making of..." program. Fascinating stuff!

I remember Marie smacking Debra during Bad Moon Rising, but that had to do with PMS, not mothering.

Which episodes have the ATM kicking scene and Debra trying to be hot in the grocery store? Titles, or even just the seasons they were on would help. Thanks!

Re going to Marco's for a slice: Warren: They have other things there? Robert: Full bar. Warren: You drive! I also love Frank's questioning why Warren is dating an older woman: You're still handsome, nice tan, you've got all your teeth and then some. When Warren laughs at that, it really looks like Robert Culp is trying not to crack up completely. Love it!

Just watched part of "Lights, Camera, Relationship!" where Carrie runs into Courtney (Amy Sedaris) who's just been fired by the publisher. One of the things Courtney says about Jack Berger is "They never should have dropped his 2nd book option." I had interpreted that to mean the 2nd book never reached publication stage. Maybe he gave Carrie a galley-proof version of the 2nd book for her to read? Hard to say. Still strikes me as odd that this seemed to be the first time she was reading anything he'd written, given that he'd had a first book out for some time. Whatevs!

Well, as long as it's for one episode...