Extra Hot Great

[sinkwriter]

Toby is my guy, always, and both Bruno and Abby are funny and fantastic in that Thanksgiving West Wing episode, and the Butterball hotline is hilarious, so I do love the episode for the humor.

[sinkwriter]

I would love to hear you all have a discussion about that post-9/11 Sorkin West Wing episode sometime. I think your perspective on it would be really interesting (and potentially funny in its scathing-ness, LOL).

[angstinmypants]

Since the concept of the Nonac was introduced on EHG mark 1 I have been waiting for "Isaac and Ishmael" to be inducted. It seems to me the epitome of the "terrible episode of a great show" idea.

[ApathyMonger]

Since the concept of the Nonac was introduced on EHG mark 1 I have been waiting for "Isaac and Ishmael" to be inducted. It seems to me the epitome of the "terrible episode of a great show" idea.

 

"Isaac and Ishmael" is the nadir of the Sorkin-era episodes, but if there's a West Wing contender for the Nonac, I'd go for S5's "Access," the mockumentary episode.

[angstinmypants]

That one is so terrible and I do always skip it when I rewatch (that one and The Long Goodbye, about Cj's dad's Alzheimer's, are the only ones I always skip) but I feel like it's sort of harmlessly bad, compared to the offensive bungled mess that is I&I.

[John Potts]

Personally I'd rank Access and Posse Commitatus below Isaac & Ishmael. I&I was an immediate response to 9/11, written in a day or two and comes across like a 45 minute PSA. Access and Posse Commitatus were PLANNED to be the way they were, which is why I'd put them lower. (OTOH, Posse Commitatus led me to TWoP, which in turn brought me here, so clouds, silver linings & all that).

[LAFR]

I'm just impressed someone got an episode of the West Wing into the cannon since for every Butterball hotline there are Indians in the lobby and the Bishop of Rome. It's hard to find an episode with enough good to balance out the overwrought portions. I thought the Isaac and Ishmael episode would be in the Nonac first.

[David T. Cole]

I would love to hear you all have a discussion about that post-9/11 Sorkin West Wing episode sometime. I think your perspective on it would be really interesting (and potentially funny in its scathing-ness, LOL).

I'd like to know what Joe thinks the worst episode is. I&I is the worst I've seen since, as I mentioned, I pretty much bailed after that one.

[Primetimer]

Finding new locations...for horror!

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[Misanthrope]

My suggestion:

Up his own ass, because his head is pretty far up there already.

[Monty]

My suggestion:

Up his own ass, because his head is pretty far up there already.

"American Horror Story: Colon"

[Side Item]

For a while the Hotel ads were super focused on Lady Gaga, and would alternate between American Horror Story: Hotel and American Horror Story: Lady Gaga.

I admit, I kind of want to see American Horror Story: Lady Gaga.

[April Bloodgate]

Thanks for highlighting PR Junior. I wasn't going to watch it, but after your discussion, I decided to give it a go. It's good!

[SnideAsides]

Surely the West Wing Nonac episode has to be the Lemon Lyman one, just out of principle.

 

I kind of would like to see a skirt made out of dildos on the grown-up version now. It'd be the best interpretation of "avant-garde" (avant-hard?) ever.

[SnideAsides]

Lady Gaga's Elbow is our new Supreme.

[Snookums]

An Old West ghost town. They could toggle between present day awful people and Old West awful people.

[David T. Cole]

Oh man, I'd watch that until I remembered they still don't know how to tell a story.

[Primetimer]

Giving descriptive theme songs to shows that really need them.

Read the story

[Certainly Ken]

Still holding an admiring grudge/grudging admiration against "Butterball Hotline" for knocking my King of the Mountain "Batman: The Animated Series" entry out after only three days, but what can you do? That scene is pure gold, and much as Sheen carries the dialogue, Schiff is the one carrying ALL the water. He's just magical in it.

[John Potts]

(To the tune of the Flintstones)

 

Firstly,
There's a plane crash,
And a lot of strangers must survive:
Landing,
On an island,
With the Others they must learn to strive.

 

What are,
Those six numbers all about?
Is it,
Possible to figure out?

 

When you're,
Lost among them,

Have a "White or Black?" time,

A "Locke or Jack?" time
It's Faith or Science you see!

(WAL-TER!)

 

ETA: Version 3, because I'd forgotten how the theme song actually ended!

Edited November 21, 2015 by John Potts

[Portia]

I've never seen The West Wing, but as soon as I heard the title "The Indian in the Lobby," I assumed it was a nod to "The Indian in the Cupboard."

Edited November 19, 2015 by Portia

[Slovenly Muse]

That Quantico song is genius and ALMOST makes me want to watch the show!

[helent]

What is the song from Dave's one?

[Primetimer]

Exploring TV characters' family trees.

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[Tara Ariano]

What is the song from Dave's one?

 

It's from the old Playstation game "Parappa The Rapper."

[David Thomas]

Hey I've been thinking: it might make Game Time slightly easier on Dave if you just use the same rotation every week--say, Tara-Joe-Sarah-Guest. You could still let PICCI randomize who starts, but if you then proceed from there into the standard rotation it'll soon become second nature and you won't have to think about who's up next.

(That particular rotation also groups people by location and nicely alternates Girl-Boy-Girl-Boy when the guest is a boy. I've thought about this too much.)

[Aethera]

When I saw Martin Sheen give a talk, he said the Butterball Hotline was his favorite scene on the series. I personally love that Abbey scene just as much - every time Stockard Channing was on, she made that show better - she and Sheen were so great together.

 

If I ever get around to doing a Nonac, I was absolutely planning on Access, but that would mean I need to watch it again. I think it definitely belongs in there, especially coming after one of the few watchable Season 5 eps, The Surpremes. It's awful. I'd rather watch I&I 40 times than watcb that. The other one I absolutely hate is An Khe. I used to run through the entire show every time I watched, but now I skip almost all of Season 5.

 

Joe Reid, please come over to TWW forum and tell me what your top eps are. I posted a roughly-ranked favorites list over there a while ago, in one of the threads. So hard to pick an actual favorite!

[David T. Cole]

[radishcake]

Getting Better! 

[Eeksquire]

Listening on the way home tonight, I was (momentarily) ready to come here and mount an impassioned defense of the Nutmeg State until Sarah mentioned sitting in traffic.  I've got to give you that one.

[David T. Cole]

Hey I've been thinking: it might make Game Time slightly easier on Dave if you just use the same rotation every week--say, Tara-Joe-Sarah-Guest. You could still let PICCI randomize who starts, but if you then proceed from there into the standard rotation it'll soon become second nature and you won't have to think about who's up next.

(That particular rotation also groups people by location and nicely alternates Girl-Boy-Girl-Boy when the guest is a boy. I've thought about this too much.)

 

Making things easy for myself is not in my stupid nature.

[SnideAsides]

This topic totally gave me warm fuzzy flashbacks to that season of TAR where the TWoP recaps included lyrics to the opening credits. Thank you.

[Primetimer]

TV shows that need Hail Mary passes.

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[Aethera]

This is one of my favorite minis ever.

 

Sarah, you made me laugh so hard at work, I got stares. That was incredibly amazing. Please, please write the rest of that!

[FormerMod-a1]

This was the best!  I especially loved the Quantico and SVU themes, but they were all good.

[formerlyfreedom]

Okay, they were all great, but the Quantico theme had me giggling pretty hard, thanks, Joe, and thankfully, I was exiting the highway just as Sarah started the L&O: SVU one, because that would have been a hard accident to explain, and this way, I just lurched into the lane while crying tears of laughter....

[Actionmage]

From Extant comes a story about Mali Woods, a "cousin" of Ethan Woods. She and her programmers, after hearing and seeing  the insanity Molly was kicking up, quietly go underground and live in the 'burbs of Houston. She and her pet armadillo meet friends and try to help out neighbors and other school kids. Molly's programmers, a divorced couple, negotiate living under the radar and trying to keep Mali's Humanichs-ness quiet with working in the field in which they are also trying to be low-key. Maybe Ethan can run away to come stay.  Leslie Jones reoccurs as  Lenore Keystone, a.k.a. Lenoir Rock ,a performance artist, and neighbor.

 

Mali Woods:  Leah Jeffries (Lola, Empire)

Denali "Denni" Flint: Irene Bedard

Perry Steele: D.B. Woodside

[Actionmage]

American Horror Story: Retirement Village

 

It explores not only aging in the US, and the billions of dollars spent in denial and then shunting folks off, but  also how the Stepfordesque "villages" are advertised as sprawling acreage away from everything.  So aging, isolation, seeming powerlessness, and reminding folks that old folks are not to be trifled with in general.  Nasty people get out-nastied by the more experienced and long-adapted residents could be wonderfully satisfying.

 

Kathy Bates would have to be brought on in some capacity so we can get her to tell someone " 'Night, Mother."

 

Cast to come...

 

PS: I'd also watch Western time-toggling!

Edited November 23, 2015 by Actionmage

[Primetimer]

John Ramos and Nick Rheinwald-Jones (no relation) get punchy talking comic-book charisma, and co-pitching a Canon!

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[gpgurl50]

Great podcast! I listened to it while unpacking Christmas decorations.

I really liked Jessica Jones but agree with Sarah that maybe it went on too long. I think it might be because they were kind of noticeably setting up things for down the line.

Great raisins ad and game time. So many great fictional book titles.

Really loved the canon submission. Well deserved. Though I am surprised it got in as it is, one in a series of recurring plots. I suppose that makes it typical of the show but also a great episode of the series.

[Dave in Chicago]

I'm enjoying "Jessica Jones" so far, but I agree with Alan Sepinwall's article today about recent TV relying too much on serialization. I was hoping for "JJ" to have individual cases each episode in addition to the overall plot, like "Veronica Mars". But instead it was so fixated on the A story that some episodes went by with only incremental progress or incident.

[SnideAsides]

Loved the Dave cheer.

[ApathyMonger]

That game time was tough. I did get the one from The Affair, but only because this week's episode had a load of shots of the cover/poster for the book.

 

I enjoyed Together too. Not great, but I liked it, and Alex MacQueen, who played the lead's father, is always welcome.

[YoSaffBridge]

Tara, any chance you'd link the gif from The Leftovers here?

[Tara Ariano]

Tara, any chance you'd link the gif from The Leftovers here?

 

I would but I don't see a way to do it without uploading it to the internet someplace else. If anyone knows, lmk.

[John Potts]

Like Dave I went "The Simpsons!" in response to "To Serve Man" and thought Tara was harsh in not allowing it (since even though I knew it referred to a Twilight Zone episode, it WAS on The Simpsons) until I realised that although the episode is entitled "To Serve Man" (well, the segment of Treehouse of Horror it was on) the book there is actually entitled "How to cook for Forty Humans", with a series of partial reveals that keep flipping the meaning. Pretty tricksy there, Tara!

[ApathyMonger]

On who Wil Traval reminds me of, he totally looks like a beefier Scott Aukerman to me.

 

[David T. Cole]

Like Dave I went "The Simpsons!" in response to "To Serve Man".

 

That wasn't me, I'm the jerk who stepped in with the correct answer.

I'm enjoying "Jessica Jones" so far, but I agree with Alan Sepinwall's article today about recent TV relying too much on serialization.

 

Jessica Jones? Sure, like I said the Alias stories PI cases were fun and could have been in a 13-episode season. TV in general? No way. I'm old enough to remember when everything on TV was procedural and it suck-dilly-ucked.

[MuuMuuChainsmoker]

First he advanced a pro-raisin agenda, then he shrugged at Tennant's Kilgrave.  I hope Tara is taking the Thankgiving hiatus to get poor Dave the help he clearly needs. 

[profreader]

Great episode -- also loved the Game Time.