The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore - General Discussion

[ganesh]

The whole running 'metaphor' joke over the panel was funny. I'm glad they just stuck with the singular topic too. The guest was really good. I don't know who she is. 

 

When I'm talking about Cosby/OJ, I'm saying the complete shredding of their character. People were burning Simpson jerseys in the streets and hammering the trophies, etc. I hope every second is televised and I hope Cosby is arrogant enough to take the stand in his own defense and gets totally eviscerated by the lawyers. 

He's totally going to play this feeble old man character as his defense. 

[attica]

Really, the only defenses (if he makes one at all) are: 1) it never happened; 2) she consented. If he goes with the latter, a prosecutor can do the "how did she indicate consent -- by snoring?" or "was that before or after the drink/drug?" thing. If he goes with the former, she has details of the encounter, plus contemporaneous reporting, plus the whole civil case settlement that he has to answer. His safest bet is probably to mount no defense, and just paint her as a liar. I agree with the panel: it's not a slam dunk (given what we know about how infrequently rapists get convicted), but it's no write-off, either. 

[ganesh]

The AP I think is trying to get their hands on the sealed court files when he settled in a different but similar case several years ago. 

I hope he gets the best defense possible, so when he's guilty, there's no question and no appeal.

[Skyfall]

I like that Bernie has started to widen his talking points but the DNC is doing their best to make sure he doesn't win. I hope he can pull an upset in one of the early states so he can get more momentum.

[marceline]

I find the "Bill Clinton is a horndog" jokes to just be tired. Has the guy been caught screwing around since Monica? If not then the shelf life on those jokes has long past expired. It's like Sarah Palin jokes. There's a lot of comedic potential with the Clintons, I'd appreciate it if they could find a premise based in the 21st century.

 

I assume that Larry is a Sanders supporter. It's interesting to see these new Comedy Central hosts show who they like and who they don't. Kind of the way that we got to watch Jon Stewart love then make an enemy of John McCain.

[attica]

Even though the DNC is burying the debates, they're still breaking viewing records compared to 2008. Even on the Saturday before Christmas!

[Muffyn]

This is the first show where I found myself actively disliking Larry, starting with the "Isn't it funny I can't say M. Night Shyamalan's last name?"  It's not funny at all.  It's rude.  Would Larry feel the same if someone made the same joke about someone of a different ethnicity?  Then the whole Bill Clinton cannot be trusted on the road. As marceline said above, the joke is tired, very tired.  He just showed a clip of Hillary having to stand up against someone calling Bill a rapist for which he made a school marm joke that seemed pretty sexist.  The lead in to the Bill piece was how he is usually under Hillary's watchful eye and she is controlling his behavior.  And then, of course, Bill is at a strip club.  between the Hillary is a controlling bitch and Bill is a big old horndog, there was nothing of value.

 

Finally, I hope the rest of the interview and panel with Bernie was interesting.  The stuff they showed was vapid and a waste of the candidate's time.  If they are going to have a guests of Bernie's caliber on the panel, they should use their best in house panelists, Mike and Holly.   

[gesundheit]

This show really has come back in 2016 firing on all cylinders. Sure, there was a lot of fodder over the break, but it's felt so much more incisive. I'm hoping they did some tooling and it'll keep going like this.

 

My favorite role of Larry Wilmore's was his recurring police officer on The Facts of Life. He was so young and skinny!

[marceline]

My favorite role of Larry Wilmore's was his recurring police officer on The Facts of Life. He was so young and skinny!

 

It took me a while to figure out that was Larry. I think the fact he had hair threw me off. 

[ganesh]

Sanders just isn't a good general election candidate simply because the GOP hate machine will paint all media with 'socialist socialist socialist.' Clinton is a better general candidate even with the 'scandals' because she's got more experience on the national level dealing with massive hate, for about 45 years. 

 

There's a book that came out in the last few months accusing Bill of being a rapist and Hillary covering it all up, so that baggage is still following them around. It's not actually an 'old reference' though the events being referenced are old. I have no doubt Bill is locked in 100% on doing whatever he can to get Hillary into the White House though. 

 

These were the wrong panelists for Sanders. This is the B team. Though it seems like Sanders was genuinely enjoying himself. 

[ChelseaNH]

Sanders can handle being called a socialist.  He's used to it.  Anyway, my primary vote isn't about the election; it's about the convention.  I want to keep Bernie in the mix so he has an influence on the platform.  Also, lopsided races are uninteresting.

[Victor the Crab]

Yes, Sanders can handle being called a socialist. But it's the American voter that has to decide if they want a socialist - not to mention an old Jewish atheist - in the White House (and yes, he's not exactly an atheist, per say, but the right can paint him as one because he's not interested in going to church).

[possibilities]

8 years ago, I was completely convinced that the USA was too racist to elect a Black man, let alone one named "Barack Hussein Obama" and yet... we did it. I'm currently inclined to believe we're too stupid to consider a candidate labeled "socialist" but who knows? I've seen surveys that say we collectively object to "socialist" less than some other groups and labels. And Bernie is right in line with the mood of "angry, say what I mean, no politician veneer" that has apparently become suddenly popular. I'm not really predicting anything anymore.

 

I do like that the show decided to drop the pretense of "not caring, really, as long as it's funny" and the "we mock them all because we're just jokers" and decided to ask some real questions and give real responses during the panel. Suddenly they cared more about the issues than about the jokes, and they still managed to make it seem like a good time. That's the tone I'm motivated to stay up late for.

 

Now I want to know if other candidates will request "equal time" and how that pans out.

 

The thing that worries me about Bernie is that he seems really tired and when he seems really tire,d his age looks like it might be an issue. If he chooses a brilliant running mate, that would help, but other then Elizabeth Warren, I'm not sure who that would be. And I like Warren as my Senator. Not sure I want her as a vice president. I like her where she has more power than "just in case".

[ganesh]

Yes, Sanders can handle being called a socialist. But it's the American voter that has to decide if they want a socialist - not to mention an old Jewish atheist - in the White House (and yes, he's not exactly an atheist, per say, but the right can paint him as one because he's not interested in going to church).

 

 

 

Yeah, I wasn't talking about whether he could "handle" the criticisms. That's not really relevant. I'm talking about as a candidate in the general election. The GOP strategy is, assuming they continue with their pogram of hate and fear would be to twist the meaning of "socialist" into someone who'd take all your guns and kill your grandma. It's Sanders' own fault because he's on record of calling himself a socialist, and that's just not going to fly in the flyover states, if you will. Which is ironic because they'll paint him as wanting to spend so much money to bankrupt the government, and it's those states that take the most federal money!

 

Not to mention this religion angle. I don't care at all if a president goes to church, but you know every election, they have to show the candidate at church, and talk to his pastor, blah, bleck. I hope we move past that, but I don't think it's going to be in 2016. It seems it would be really, really difficult for him to grab 271 electoral votes.

 

Influence on the platform for the convention is a separate issue. I'm skeptical how many of all these people at the Sanders rallies are actually going to vote in the primary. Honestly, each party platform isn't that much different, so it would be nice if Democrats actually showed some courage and stood up for these really complex issues. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Just want to post a reminder in here, since it's election season. It's impossible to avoid political talk on a forum about a show such as The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, however it 1) does need to stay with the bounds of the topic(s) on the show episode, and 2) must always remain civil to your fellow posters. If you feel a post crosses the line, please report it. If you disagree with someone, please do so in a respectful way. This moderator hails from the great state of Iowa, and at this time in the election cycle, her hope in humanity is flagging all over the place, so please, help restore it!

[DeLurker]

I felt like Larry and the correspondents on his show dominated the panel last night with Hank Azaria.  Unfortunate too, because he's smart and funny, while they seemed to be caught up in a cool kid clique.

[ganesh]

I think it was ok. They weren't really talking about anything, so I don't think they were freezing out HA. Plus, it was kind of like 'the boys yukking it up'.

[attica]

How great a panelist was that Tavi Gevinson? And she's still only 19! 

[gesundheit]

Last night was pretty great. Sean Penn deserved that skewering and then some. I cannot bring myself to read that stupid interview, but those excerpts made me confident that what it was in my imagination is exactly what it is in actuality.

[ganesh]

That whole panel was hilarious.

[Skyfall]

Larry is like a month late on the Flint story AND missed the whole connection with the governor and how he can overturn elections and appoint his own people which led to this whole crisis snowballing.

[revbfc]

Ricky is really improving. In the last four months I've gone from being openly hostile to his presence to actually being amused by him on occasion (like last night).

[Edited because I should proofread before posting]

Edited January 14, 2016 by revbfc

[kassygreene]

While Larry was busy blaming the city government of Flint, he completely ignored the fact that the Governor of Michigan, (a truly) Dick Snyder, took advantage of a law he got the state legislature to pass, and declared the government of Flint (and many other cities) to be incompetent, and appointed replacements to "manage" these cities.  These are the asswipes who switched to a "cheaper" water supply, refused the (truly) cheap extra processing to make that water safe, and told the citizens that there was nothing wrong with the water so stop wanking.  Presently the Michigan government is collecting all the privately donated bottled water and (taking credit for) distributing it.  Rachel Maddow has been all over this since before Christmas.
 
But the line about how THIS is what small government truly looks like was spot on (did Larry actually say that, or did I hear it on another show?).

[wknt3]

Ricky is really improving. In the last four months I've gone from being open hostility to his presence to actually being amused by him on occasion (like last night).

 

I was just thinking the same thing last night. He doesn't seem to have done many bits lately, but he is like a million times better on panel. He's actually participating now and adding something of value instead of just trying to score laughs by being an idiot who doesn't care about anything. Definitely not the worst part of the show anymore (sorry Grace Parra).

[stillshimpy]

I've been thinking the same thing, Ricky has definitely improved.  I think it's because he hasn't been trying to talk over everyone and he seems to actually give his answer some thought.  I've been surprised by how much I've been liking him, because I couldn't stand him the first few times he was on.  I honestly don't think it's that I've adjusted to his performance style, I think he's been adjusting his performance and he's less overly assertive and...braying for a lack of better term. 

 

I've always liked Mike Yard though and he was slaying me throughout about Sean Penn.  I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed for someone than I was for Sean Penn, idiotically prattling about his digestive functions and elimination needs.  

 

How great a panelist was that Tavi Gevinson? And she's still only 19!

 

Holy crow, really? I am now even more impressed and she was really was great. 

Edited January 14, 2016 by stillshimpy

[DeLurker]

The Grace Parra piece went on too long as did the Dennis Rodman interview of Sean Penn. couldn't understand either one so running it longer was not interesting nor funny.

[revbfc]

The Grace Parra piece went on too long as did the Dennis Rodman interview of Sean Penn. couldn't understand either one so running it longer was not interesting nor funny.

I dug it. That Rodman impression is gold.

[ganesh]

The Rodman impression was actually quite good imo, but they rambled in the piece. I think Grace as the entertainment reporter is funny, but Larry's reactions aren't quite right for me. 

 

The show is really good when they have on guests like the teenager, the trans panel, etc. People weren't not seeing on tv anywhere else. Not that there aren't comedians who are smart and can say something interesting about a current topic, but they're on every talk show. 

[Skyfall]

While Larry was busy blaming the city government of Flint, he completely ignored the fact that the Governor of Michigan, (a truly) Dick Snyder, took advantage of a law he got the state legislature to pass, and declared the government of Flint (and many other cities) to be incompetent, and appointed replacements to "manage" these cities.  These are the asswipes who switched to a "cheaper" water supply, refused the (truly) cheap extra processing to make that water safe, and told the citizens that there was nothing wrong with the water so stop wanking.  Presently the Michigan government is collecting all the privately donated bottled water and (taking credit for) distributing it.  Rachel Maddow has been all over this since before Christmas.

 

But the line about how THIS is what small government truly looks like was spot on (did Larry actually say that, or did I hear it on another show?).

Rachel Maddow is love, Rachel Maddow is life.

[ganesh]

Yard had to be trolling a bit on this panel. It's hard to rip on Obama for not getting much done considering the 3rd most powerful person in the federal government at the time is on record saying that congress' main job was to make sure the president wouldn't get reelected. I guess he's got a point that he didn't do much specifically for black people. I would assume the tens of millions of people who now have access to affordable health care, some are black. So there's that. 

 

The guest was right though. If Obama didn't push for negotiations with Iran, and stuck to it, this whole sailor incident would have been far far far worse. 

 

Obama is screwed no matter what he does.

[attica]

Batali is funny on twitter. I saw him reply to an insult with "You, sir, are charming and delightful!" Which I've adopted into my everyday usage, because it diffuses my rage with amusement.

 

I kind of agree with Holly: had Obama been 'blacker', the people whose heads are just exploding would have armed themselves.

[ganesh]

If Obama had been blacker he wouldn't have gotten reelected. One thing Holly asked Yard that he didn't answer: what kind of legislation could he have pushed through congress? They had a field day last week because they passed a repeal of the ACA for Obama to veto. After 50+ tries. Every time he tries to do something on his own, it ends up in court. With government shutdowns over petty gripes that never went anywhere, the fact he was able to do anything is near miraculous. 

[possibilities]

Why is Larry surprised that the KI100 questions are impossible? He always asked those kinds of questions to put his panelists on the spot, so now those are what he's being asked. I hope it makes him realize how the bit just doesn't work.

[wknt3]

For a show that's supposed to be providing an alternative point of view their Hillary bits are disappointingly tired and cliche. It's not like there isn't plenty of material out there to do something different. They more than made up for it with the dildo bit though. And with Rory on the panel. He was the MVP of this show.

[ganesh]

Give me a break, Larry, if you don't think Sanders admitting he's a socialist isn't going to hurt him, then you're myopic. The GOP are already throwing that back at him and he isn't even the nominee. Yeah, we have plenty of socialist programs in the USA, good ones, but it carries a certain colloquial connotation. Being overly technical comes off as condescending. 

[ganesh]

Any real person in real life who clears a table off and just swipes it all onto the floor has serious issues. 

[attica]

...unless it's to make a space for sexytimes. Maybe he was 'bout to get busy!

[ganesh]

I nearly convinced that's what they're doing over there and that this "occupation" is a smokescreen.

[Hooper]

Dear Larry, Trevor, Stephen, and pretty much every reporter and late night tee vee host who wasn't born and raised in Oregon,

 

The Refuge name is Malheur, pronounced MAHL-hyur.  It's not that hard.  It's two stinkin' syllables.  The fact that reporters and late night TV hosts put more effort into learning how to pronounce the name of some 20-syllable volcano in Iceland than they do in learning how to pronounce the site of an armed insurrection in the US makes even librul, tree-huggin', feminazi, granola chompin', soshulists like me resent the elitist, out of touch, lame stream media with its New York values.  It makes me so mad I'd sweep a bunch of stuff off my kitchen table, except I don't have any TV cameras aimed at me, and I'd just have to clean it up, so what's the point? And don't get me started on how to pronounce the name of the state where this insurrection is occurring. 

 

Ahem.  Anyhoo, this has been a consistently good week of shows for TNS.  I'll add my love for the 19 yr old panelist from a couple nights ago.  I hope they invite her back frequently.  

Edited January 15, 2016 by Hooper

[possibilities]

Any real person in real life who clears a table off and just swipes it all onto the floor has serious issues.

I'm sure these guys are used to having women do all the clean up, and the dude didn't think through his gesture and the lack of ladies to clean up after him, til after he had his tantrum.

[AmandaPanda]

I really loved the Oscar snub segment, especially since I was catching up after the nominations were announced. It turned out to be completely right, though it wasn't that hard to predict that the Oscars would be entirely white. Robin Thede is also really starting to grow on me.

[Hooper]

 

You got an extra bullet?

 

Ricky Valez made me laugh out loud with that one.

 

It certainly helped that I was still basking in the brilliance of Rory's and Mike's "defense" of the new and improved KKK, but still credit where credit is due - well played, Ricky.

[BabyVegas]

I, too, was thinking roughly the same thing about Ricky improving drastically tonight. I laughed out loud at his version of New York Values because it was 100% true.

And Rory and Mike doing that arguing both sides bit kind of reminded me of Even Stephven, which is a compliment.

[attica]

And Rory and Mike doing that arguing both sides bit kind of reminded me of Even Stephven, which is a compliment.

 

I agree; I'm reminded of that bit as well.  Mike's visible frustration with having to defend the Klan was terrific.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I had no idea Mike felt that way.

[ganesh]

I think the Mike/Rory bit is really good because I'm convinced that these pundits are just working the talk shows circuit and the actual position they take is irrelevant. 

[attica]

That has to be the case, ganesh, otherwise their heads would collectively explode with the dissonance of supporting some act or other when Republicans do it, and denounce it with the fury of an inferno when Dems do it.

[ganesh]

I think the panel missed the point about the Oscars. This is the second year in a row where the major actor categories are all white. I've heard people argue that, "well maybe there weren't any Oscar-worth black actors." Over the last two years? The problem is that the voters aren't watching these movies too. 

 

Then there's the case when the only actor to get nominated from Creed is the one white guy. Or for NWA, where the white writers got it. The writing is oscar-worthy, but no on in the film is?

 

The larger picture is that black actors aren't getting the roles to begin with, but you have to start protesting somewhere. If the oscar audience is 90%+ white, then that says something. 

[attica]

Although the bit was sorta predictable, the name itself "Tsunami Don" is still cracking me up.

 

I fully endorse the term 'sexual debut.' I've long complained about 'losing virginity', because it doesn't at all reflect the gaining of a milestone experience, which I consider one's first sexytimes to be. But I used instead 'first time ___ had sex', which is, let's face it, clunky. 'Sexual Debut' is much pithier and fun.

[ganesh]

For a panel about sex, they really didn't talk about much. It would have been better if Larry had one or two issues to address.