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[Primetimer]

Inspired by Stranger Things, we revisit/reboot '80s TV.

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[DavidJSnyder]

What's interesting about Sarah's idea is since Jean Sagal is a director and Liz Sagal is a TV writer, the twins could make the Double Trouble reboot.

My idea is along the lines of Dave's, but I'd want Automan and Manimal to team up and fight crime under the auspices of the secret organization headed by Mr. Smith.

[Al Lowe]

I can't live with y'all hating The Jackal. "Are you talking to me during The Jackal?" is something I say in my house with alarming frequency. 

[Kip]

Jerry from Seinfeld is George's Tyler Durden. He's cooler, gets women that George can't even dream of (and then breaks up with them for the dumbest reasons), has the parents that he wishes he had, and doesn't actually seem to work (we see him tell a joke, but we never see him stuck in Ohio at a crappy hotel waiting for a show or being cheated out of payment because he wasn't funny enough or having to fight to get paid in money rather than cocaine).

[Sarah D. Bunting]

They should never have showed it. The bit would work if you didn't see it, but this particular brand of theater-kid in-joke is super not for me, and it just. keeps. going.

[Monty]

Whenever Double Trouble comes up (which isn't as often as I'd like) I feel obliged to inform people that Liz and Jean Sagal are the sisters of Katey Sagal.  So...there you go!

[lynny]

I actually think that Combat Hospital was supposed to be a post 9-11 MASH. But I think I'm the only person that liked it. 

[Primetimer]

What TV series make more sense as anthologies?

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[Mara AK]

Such a big shout out to Sarah for recommending My Mad Fat Diary. It's a funny, charming gem and I can't wait to share it with my 15-year-old daughter. It gets so many things right.

[Sarah Hope]

Such a big shout out to Sarah for recommending My Mad Fat Diary. It's a funny, charming gem and I can't wait to share it with my 15-year-old daughter. It gets so many things right.

YES! I think it would be a brilliant show for moms and daughters to watch. It's so wonderful and beautiful and sad and funny all at once.

[Primetimer]

Packing entire casts off to Six Flags.

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[heshy]

Josh was involved in two internet/tv plot points: one about LemonLyman.com, and the other about Star Trek. I always read the LemonLyman plot as "Sorkin understands the internet and fandom har har har" (except not really, not really at all).

But I felt Sorkin's actual criticism of fandom and people's microscopic analysis of his precious, perfect show was commented on in season 4, "Arctic Radar", when Josh has a run-in with a staffer wearing a Star Trek pin:
"I'm a fan. I'm a sports fan, I'm a music fan and I'm a Star Trek fan. All of them. But here's what I don't do. Tell me if any of this sounds familiar: "Let's list our ten favorite episodes. Let's list our least favorite episodes. Let's list our favorite galaxies. Let's make a chart to see how often our favorite galaxies appear in our favorite episodes. What Romulan would you most like to see coupled with a Cardassian and why? Let's spend a weekend talking about Romulans falling in love with Cardassians and then let's do it again." That's not being a fan. That's having a fetish."
The listing of things "fetishists" talk about -- that's straight off fan forum topic headings.

And, because Sorkin is who he is, he has to top it off with the condescending "we'll make [a Star Trek holiday if you're good enough]."

[Monty]

And what's weird about the whole thing is that Sorkin is constantly writing fanfic about the real people in his life where he gets to tell network executives "If you can't make money with Sports Night, you should get out of the money-making business," and that doesn't seem THAT different from writing a story where your favorite Vulcan gets to be extra-awesome.

[Kip]

I would love to see Buffy the Vampire slayer done as an anthology, each season focusing on a different slayer through history.

[Primetimer]

Mark Blankenship gets into the Blankenship Chair to spill the T.

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[Racj82]

Dang. Will listen at work shortly but I was hoping for a in depth discussion on Atlanta (which was slightly touch on before it premiered) and Queen Sugar. Those were easily the two best things I saw last week. I hope people continue to go out and watch those shows.

[Monty]

Here in Seattle, there's a thriving "Gross Weirdo" drag scene, which I love, and there are plenty of larger people in it. I direct you to these hilarious pictures of Dina Martina as an example. Or Jackie Hell. It's not all Jinkx Monsoon and Ben de la Creme out here!

[Lisin]

@Sarah D. Bunting's low key "Fucking Duke ruins everything " just made my whole week and it's only Tuesday!

[Eldemarge]

I laughed out loud in my car (driving to work) during The Blotter Presents this morning and it was 5:45 AM. So well done, everyone! Not an easy feat. #Killerpost #YYYYYEEEAAAAAHH!!

[sconstant]

Re: "we are gay and straight together" - I'm pretty sure the Indigo Girls sprang from Holly Near's imagination and not vice versa. 

(And before she was an earnest folkie feminist and an early out quasi-celeb, she was on TV in significant bit roles, so this is not off-topic!   All in the Family and The Partridge Family.  With a (triumphant?) return in an episode of L.A. Law.)

I'm glad that it's mockable in retrospect, because it shows how far things have come.  But a small twinge at all the mockery, because the sentiments were both necessary and brave then.

[NichD]

Apologies for being this nitpicky person, but I feel compelled to point out that Drag Race doing the Snatch Game with nine queens left is not an anomaly. I double-checked the Drag Race wiki, and Seasons 2-5 all had nine queens competing, Season 6 brought it up to ten, and it's only in Seasons 7 & 8 that it was done with eight.

All this to say, I don't suspect there were any shenanigans in the timing, especially given what a popular challenge it is. I think Rupaul & co. wanted to do it early in the season so that we'd get to see as many queens' impersonations as possible.

Source: http://logosrupaulsdragrace.wikia.com/wiki/Snatch_Game

[PatternRec]

I'm just glad we got a game named after Sherri Shepherd's second best line readings from 30 Rock (the first being "Ham!")

[RMH]

Apologies for being this nitpicky person, but I feel compelled to point out that Drag Race doing the Snatch Game with nine queens left is not an anomaly. I double-checked the Drag Race wiki, and Seasons 2-5 all had nine queens competing, Season 6 brought it up to ten, and it's only in Seasons 7 & 8 that it was done with eight.

All this to say, I don't suspect there were any shenanigans in the timing, especially given what a popular challenge it is. I think Rupaul & co. wanted to do it early in the season so that we'd get to see as many queens' impersonations as possible.

Source: http://logosrupaulsdragrace.wikia.com/wiki/Snatch_Game

I was about to post the same thing. Not always 8 queens.

[April Bloodgate]

I've seen a fair number of bigger queens in my time in small-medium cities in the Midwest, but I have a feeling there are probably more big queens in the Midwest and South than in other parts of the country.

[Tara Ariano]

I updated Mark's post on this season's Snatch Game episode with that correction. Apologies!

[purist]

Further to what @sconstant said, the protest song by Holly Near is called 'Singing for Our Lives' and was almost as significant in its time as 'We Shall Overcome' was in the 1960s. Wikipedia has more:

Quote

[Near's] song "Singing For Our Lives" appears in Singing the Living Tradition, the official hymnal of the Unitarian Universalist Association, under the title "We Are A Gentle, Angry People" (Hymn #170).[7] The hymn was also performed by Quaker Friends in an episode of the TV series Six Feet Under. In 2015, the same song, credited as "Singing For Our Lives" appeared in the Australian independent film The Lives We Lead, alongside its theme song "I Am Willing", another rousing Near-penned protest song.

Sure, the song sounds pretty naff now - but I also found this on a blog called 'Queer Music Heritage', which is Near talking about the origins of the song:

Quote

I wrote "Singing for Our Lives" after Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone were assassinated in San Francisco, and I can remember it being sung at many events but the thing that always moved me so was that people would put up their lighters, their candles, and there were people in the streets singing this song, the first verse is that "we are gay and lesbian people" … were saying those names about themselves for the first time. They were being very brave in coming forward and trying to take the rage and the hurt of the city as a result of Harvey being killed, trying to take that anger and direct it toward the social change movement so that something can be built rather than something destroyed. So it's become kind of a peace anthem, a gay and lesbian anthem, and an anthem that allies and gay people can sing together. In fact oftentimes in the concerts when I start to sing that song people stand, and take hands, and sing it together as a real glue in their community, which is very moving to me.

[Jesse]

On 9/14/2016 at 9:25 AM, sconstant said:

Re: "we are gay and straight together" - I'm pretty sure the Indigo Girls sprang from Holly Near's imagination and not vice versa. 

(And before she was an earnest folkie feminist and an early out quasi-celeb, she was on TV in significant bit roles, so this is not off-topic!   All in the Family and The Partridge Family.  With a (triumphant?) return in an episode of L.A. Law.)

I'm glad that it's mockable in retrospect, because it shows how far things have come.  But a small twinge at all the mockery, because the sentiments were both necessary and brave then.

For what it's worth, I was a College Feminist in the 90s and I mocked that earnestness at the time. (Not saying it wasn't important!)

[Primetimer]

It's the pumpkin-spice latte of autumnal programming overviews! ...Unless you hate those. Eve Batey's back to look at the best, worst, and meh-est of new and returning shows.

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[kimbrchick]

Guess what's been stuck in my head for two days straight (and gay)? I totally remember that episode. Hearing the clips was weird. During the first 4 or 5 seasons of the Real World, I remember MtV would replay them during marathon weekends all the time. I would always tune in because it was really interesting TV for back then. Then it got really dumb and I tuned out. Anyway, great submission!

[jima]

And the Mennons t-shirt arrives in 5,4,3,2...

[The Solid Muldoon]

As I listened to all the descriptions of all the new shows, I kept hearing, " and they solve crimes."

[DavidJSnyder]

Yelling at my phone during the Shits and Giggles.

[April Bloodgate]

Like Sarah, I also confidently answered Anthony Michael Hall in my head when the answer was Michael C. Hall. Not sure I'll ever stop mixing up those two names.

[Primetimer]

New and necessary Emmy categories.

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[VSee842]

I 100% agree with Sarah's opinion on Christina Tosi. Her smug overacting is the worst.

[Tara Ariano]

I incorrectly remembered Mark having written a post about adding a dramedy category at the Emmys? He...did not. This is the post I was thinking of. I apologize to Dave for another incorrect correction!

[April Bloodgate]

I just love Tara/Dave interactions (her laughing at his jokes on this and the main ep this week prompted me to write this), and I'm grateful I get to see a little more of it on social media. You two are delightful.

[David T. Cole]

I tolerate Tara though.

[MuuMuuChainsmoker]

As one of the 4 people who watched Bloodline, I can attest that Ben Mendelsohn was amazing.  I assume y'all will be content to just take my word for it though. 

[Primetimer]

The Warholian real-time TV we'd be willing to watch.

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[DavidJSnyder]

ABC picks Magnum PI.

[MaryPatShelby]

10 hours ago, MuuMuuChainsmoker said:

As one of the 4 people who watched Bloodline, I can attest that Ben Mendelsohn was amazing.  I assume y'all will be content to just take my word for it though. 

I was one of those 4 too. Though I love Jonathan Banks also, I was just fine with Mendelsohn's win.

I'm in total agreement with Sarah about Rectify. My mantra is "don't let me die before October 26". Not that I'm close to dying or anything, but no car accidents please, or sudden heart failure.

Edited September 22, 2016 by MaryPatShelby

[Fukui San]

Very romantic, Dave.

[David T. Cole]

Saved for many future uses!

[purist]

I too would watch Ted Sr on Rectify slowly fixing his kitchen. I just want to say that I love Tara's and Sarah's love for Rectify. Pretty sure I started watching it because of your recommendation, and it's now one of my favourite shows of all time.

[Primetimer]

The TV housing you crave...bundled with that show's most irritating character.

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[Kip]

Best long form (Drama and Comedy categories) - Must have a Minimum of 20 episode per season (can not split season between years). Because 8 episode seasons are a sprint, 20-22 are a marathon.

[Kip]

The Serenity (Firefly) - I'll put up with Simon. I would have liked to said the TARDIS, but I can't think of seeing a bedroom in that place since the 80s, and they just talk about the different rooms, whereas the Serenity feels more like a home that can fly.

[Monty]

My first thought was the big apartment in Friends. I think Monica would be the most annoying roommate, because things would start out great. My roommate cooks AND cleans! But she'd probably murder me for not keeping things as clean as they were supposed to be.

But then I decided that even an implausibly large Manhattan apartment isn't big enough. I'm going to live in the giant mansion from the first couple seasons of Arrow. That place has like 23 bedrooms, so I think I can stay out of the way of  whoever Ihave to live with. And it's only minutes from downtown!

[John Potts]

How about Amanda Clarke's place from Revenge? That's a sweet pad, though you'd probably get murdered for inadvertently discovering her secret identity.