S01.E07: Year of the Rat

[AntFTW]

Quote

All hell breaks loose between Martha and John surrounding her decision to testify. John Dean is surprised by a new legal development as G. Gordon Liddy faces his own trial in solitary confinement.

Air Date: June 5, 2022

[AntFTW]

Watching Liddy go insane is hilarious!

[revbfc]

Somebody fought for that effects shot of a rat screaming in horror, and I want to thank them for doing so.

[kassa]

This show is so good and not getting anything close to the attention it should. 

The woman who played Barbara Walters was amazing - it's very hard to capture someone who has been so widely parodied, but she did it very well, especially the way Barbara would change her tone to one of softness even as she dug deeper.  

I don't recall what happened to Mitchell, and am trying to stay unspoiled, but I hope whatever it was came close to what he deserved.

[revbfc]

2 hours ago, kassa said:

This show is so good and not getting anything close to the attention it should.

The performances are phenomenal, and it looks great, but the way it was all  put together isn’t as good.  There’s an unresolved clash of tones that don’t compliment each other.  For example, the show is ostensibly about Martha Mitchell, but two thirds of the show has nothing to do with her.

What would have worked better?  Editing all the main stories into stand alone pieces, and releasing them as “Watergate Stories” or something. 
 

[Hedgehog2022]

I was in college when the Watergate hearings were televised. I remember how horrible John Mitchell was as Attorney General and had read some of the disgusting things he said about the few women who had some political clout or were in positions of power in the media. But I did not know what a violent, abusive misogynist he was. Martha Mitchell was a victim of horrendous physical and emotional abuse by her husband…like a lot of women from that era she self medicated with alcohol and medication. I wish there had been more sympathy and kindness afforded to her instead of the sexist jokes and a portrayal by the media of her as a crazy loudmouth looking for attention. 

[susannot]

Good God, the actor playing G. Gordon Liddy is fantastic.  He was a psycho nutcase and the show is totally going for it.

[meira.hand]

7 hours ago, susannot said:

Good God, the actor playing G. Gordon Liddy is fantastic.  He was a psycho nutcase and the show is totally going for it.

But clearly intelligent and with a sense of humor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJNDMNTkU-s

[Cheezwiz]

Another excellent ep. The scenes of violence between Mitchell & Martha were really hard to watch. How sad that it's taken this many decades for her to get some vindication.

I knew Liddy was a crazy nutbag, but holy guacamole, the depiction of him is just going balls-to-the-wall with the insanity! Yep, extra bonus points for the screaming rodent at the conclusion!

As others have mentioned, I really wish this show was getting more attention, because it's excellent, and certainly relevant to today.

[Moxie Cat]

On 6/6/2022 at 6:40 PM, revbfc said:

The performances are phenomenal, and it looks great, but the way it was all  put together isn’t as good.  There’s an unresolved clash of tones that don’t compliment each other.  For example, the show is ostensibly about Martha Mitchell, but two thirds of the show has nothing to do with her.

I completely agree. This episode was tonally SO different from the last one. "Tuffy" reminded me of an episode of "This Is Us," pathos with a bittersweet but feel-good ending. This episode was like a horror movie. I appreciate the Liddy scenes, especially Shea Whigham's performance, but TBH, I fast-forwarded through some of it. It was just TOO much and went on for too long. 

And at the same time, I had no idea why Dean was going to prison or why it was at an army base...not enough exposition there for those of us who were born after Watergate and don't know all the details.

What I do find amazing is how many of these guys faced jail time for being just remotely aware of Watergate before and after the break-in. Different times, I guess.

[DanaK]

On 8/19/2022 at 12:35 PM, Moxie Cat said:

And at the same time, I had no idea why Dean was going to prison or why it was at an army base...not enough exposition there for those of us who were born after Watergate and don't know all the details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dean#Criminal_trial
 

Interesting but weird show, especially this episode. I agree that the performances are quite good but the story and the tone are all over the place

Edited September 10, 2023 by DanaK