Extra Hot Great

[Sarah D. Bunting]

oh shiiiii

[theodyssey]

If The Good Wife is so terrible DROP IT: I gave up on Dexter with only two episodes of the entire series left having watched 6 and three quarter seasons, and I've never had any urge to seek out the remainder.

And yes - American reality shows in particular seem stupidly obsessed with gimmicks. From your reviews I'd hate Junior Masterchef USA. The British "kid versions" of competitive shows are basically just the originals, but slightly less intense and with cuter contestants.

[Dave in Chicago]

If the strategy is to assign him something so frivolous that he either can't make it self-important, or his doing so is just immediately, transparently false... season 2 of "The Slap"?

Or nix his Lucille Ball project and stick him with a Sherwood Schwartz biopic instead.

[DavidJSnyder]

Aaron Sorkin's "Spaaaaaaaaaaaace".

[Kip]

Lifestyles of the assistants to the rich and famous

Behind the scenes series showing the process of being a celebrity assistant. If Prince is in the zone and wants a Stradivarius at 3 am, how do you make that happen. How do you track down the next 24 year old model that Leo wants to date? What is it like to be invisible among the rich and famous?

[Fukui San]

Studio Playroom Live in the Studio! - Jakob Weissman is the brooding genius behind the beloved cultural institution children's variety show "Studio Playroom". Facing the pressures of a changing culture that threaten its place at the top of children's entertainment, which as we know is the most important thing going on anywhere and covered by a hostile, fatuous press as embodied by one hot reporter that he used to have an affair with, Weissman takes the radical step of producing the show live every day to freshen up the proceedings. This angers his show's star, the beautiful Mitzi Moo, a singular but opinionated talented actress that he used to have an affair with. And let's make her feminist or Christian or something. At home he ironically has trouble relating to his own young daughter, whom we see only when it is convenient to the plot.  The daughter's mother is his Ex, who has a job in Washington in a watchdog group on Children's entertainment trying to impose more stringent educational requirements on Children's television, which Jakob has strong opinions about. 

[Qoass]

Cleaning with the Stars.  Anybody who has ever been on one of those "Cribs" style shows now has clean their own fifteen bathrooms and figure out how the washing machine works.  Martha Stewart judges.

[profreader]

WALSH JUSTICE (working title "Mr. Walsh of the Eighth Circuit" previous working title "Flyover States") Brandon Walsh inexplicably gets accepted to Harvard Law and returns to his home state of Minnesota, where he is even more inexplicably elected to the state legislature. Through his well publicized battles with a "blogger" on the "internet" he achieves notoriety as a plain-talking man of the people, and is appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Here, Mr. Walsh is in his element, braying from the bench to his heart's content. Sorkin digs deep into legal minutiae and his disdain for the Midwest. Guest star Sarah Jessica Parker appears in an arc in which Andrea Zuckerman is sent to St. Louis to cover a police brutality case for the New York Star (which a lot of parents read.)

 

"You might have 140 characters... I only need one."

 

(I realize actually that this is a project AS would love so... whoops.)

Edited March 18, 2016 by profreader

[Actionmage]

For The Outdoor Channel: The History of Noodling.  Upside/ Us: It's about noodling (catching fish with your hands).  Upside/ Sorkin: It's primarily white men leading in this area. Upside/ Us: Sorkin ends up in muddy backwood creeks and rivers.

 

For Animal Planet: Groom.  The world of what groomers go through at retail chains across the country. The wacky requests, the unhappy clients, the scars- physical or emotional- that these folks take home at the end of their day.  Upside/ Us: Dogs and cats!  Upside/Sorkin: a male position is the title. Upside/Us: We might get Sorkin being around an anal sac cleaning. ( Sorry camera crew.)

[Actionmage]

I have decided not to watch Once Upon A Time or Grimm. I can't with the writing for either. (Though I will keep reading the forums here. I've put in four seasons for both shows.)  I might backslide for the season finales, but I can't say.

[Actionmage]

If we could have an American Crime Story: School then have it as anthology for the season, the insanity of violence- not just gun violence- in schools has been around a lot longer than the late 20th century. There just have been bigger death counts.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school-related_attacks  ( Check the primary school list; it includes international incidents, but the majority are U.S.-based.) There are a handful of reasons why folks went nuts and responded with violence, which come up again and again. The season wouldn't have to be  super stretched out, somewhere between six and the usual 13.

 

(Yes, it seems like I am conflating American Horror Story and American Crime Story, but I'm not. I'm intentionally suggesting a break with the last two seasons of ACS to go anthology for this subject.)

[Kip]

That's kind of what Aquarius is already about, except it's crappy.

 

From the discription of the show it sounds fairly fictionalized. I don't understand why anyone would bother to do that, the real story is beyond crazy (probably because many of the main players in the story were on hallucinogenic drugs). If the police had taken the Family serious that early, like the synopsis describes, much of the tragedy would have been averted. 

[EricJ]

Have Sorkin revive Shields and Yarnell:

(and this would be a good topic for Let's Go to the Videotape: there was a variety show centered around _Mimes_. God Damn you, '70s.)

[Misanthrope]

Aaron Sorkin brings you the story of a remote convent in medieval Scotland.

Coming this fall to NBC:

WHAT KIND OF DEI HAS IT BEEN?

[Kip]

Aaron Sorkin's "Spaaaaaaaaaaaace".

 

You joke, but I would watch the hell out of a Aaron Sorkin NASA tv show. In any other room each person on the show would be the smartest one, and even the jocks are scientists.

 

Episode 1 - "Pilot" 

The pilot for the next mission has contacted West Nile from while visiting family in Arizona, so he has to be replaced. The higher ups spend the episode going over who is the best option among the 3 candidates. 

[vendredi3]

Every time this game comes up, I wonder where to find the title song clip that's used. I mean I know it's a Wiggles song, but I mean specifically the clip with people singing over it.

[Solid Muldoon]

Between road trips, major league baseball team the Brooklyn Zephyr must spend a lot more time with their families. Secretly gay-married Pitcher Charlie Butterfield; rapidly aging Coach Winslow "Cool Breeze" Washington; frazzled young Travel Manager Samantha "Sammy" Snead; and rebellious Radio Broadcasters Bernie Kitt and Stan "Boom Boom" Kabudel come together in Arron Sorkin's American Homestand.

[David T. Cole]

Everytime someone asks too :) Arrested Development.

[dr pepper]

Micropolis: From the dark paranoia of the Neighborhood Watch to the technicolor exuberance of the Beautification Project, from the children's games in the pocket park to the dire warnings from the Code Compliance Committee, this gated community is a hotbed of civics in action. It's The West Wing meets Desperate Housewives!

[radishcake]

I would watch all of these shows. Good job EHG listeners! <3

[radishcake]

"Worse than Jazz" segments always bring me back to the 2-3 weeks in AP English in which our English teacher tried to make us appreciate jazz.  I don't hate jazz like most of the panel but am profoundly indifferent to it, and asking us to feel for jazz musicians put out of work by the rise of rock and roll fell on deaf ears, to say the least.  I can only imagine Dave having to sit through three weeks of class time listening to Jazz.

Did you go to Kids In the Hall High School??

 

[David T. Cole]

I did.

[MuuMuuChainsmoker]

The whole time Nick was listing his reasons for dropping iZombie, you could tell that Tara was nodding politely and refraining from blurting out "Nick, you ignorant slut!"

 

Or maybe that was just me.  :)

[SnideAsides]

Aaron Sorkin writes the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune. Although the budget would probably be blown out once someone realises that the final puzzle in every single goddamn episode is "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"

[Primetimer]

Giving departed TV characters better departures.

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[John Potts]

If you're re-writing Trek deaths, then surely the worst was Trip in Enterprise - not only was it spoiled within the episode, he was killed in (what I remember as) a fairly minor scuffle. He didn't even get the "Doctor struggles manfully to save them (but fails)" scene, it was just "Yeah, Trip's dead".

[Misanthrope]

The moment Dave mentioned "Tasha Yar" I immediately thought "fucked to death by Data, of course".

Clearly Dave and I are sympatico on this, and I'm not sure if I (or he) should be thrilled or terrified by this.

[Tara Ariano]

The whole time Nick was listing his reasons for dropping iZombie, you could tell that Tara was nodding politely and refraining from blurting out "Nick, you ignorant slut!"

 

Nah, he made some good points.

[teecer]

I nominate pretty much every male romantic love interest on "Gilmore Girls" (except Luke) because every single one of them (except Logan) had to be haphazardly written off the show because they were getting bigger roles on other shows.

Dean was written out twice! And his final scene of the show (thanks to the "Gilmore Guys" podcast for reminding me) was a weird scene where he basically cursed Luke's relationship with Lorelai. Rory was there too (getting drunk on Miss Patty's Founder's Day Punch), and yet they never encountered each other?

See also: Christopher, who came in and out of the series so randomly that he didn't come to Rory's high school graduation, but did make it to Emily and Richard's vow renewal.

[DavidJSnyder]

Mandy from the West Wing, who they knew wasn't coming back next season but rather than having her quit or get fired or shot or anything just disappears without explanation.

[Kip]

The 6th Doctor on Doctor who, played by Colin Baker. 6 is pretty much considered most people's least favorite classic Doctor, and was fire from the show after the show was almost cancelled. He was pissed at being fired, so did not agree to come back to be killed off, which gave us the easly the worst Doctor's death/regeneration scene. At best guess is he died bumping his head on the control panel off screen. Tiny Sylvester McCoy is in a terrible wig (alert Wig cop), McCoy is 5'6" compared to Baker who is 6' and is just in the prior's cloths as the regeneration begins they flip him over (they remove the wig), and we see the new Doctor.

What I would have rather had was in the prior story (The Trial of a Time Lord), after winning the case would have him get assassinated with a "magic bullet", and spend the first story of the new season dealing with who did it (The CIA did it, Celestial Intervention Agency that is, not a lone gunman because that's too far fetch). I think the CIA could have been used to explain why the 7th Doctor became more proactive, as he is doing things to counter what they are up to throughout space and time.

[Actionmage]

While I did not watch Las Vegas  (the one with Molly Simms and James Caan) with any regularity, Lara Flynn Boyle's character should have had a more dignified exit than "blown off a balcony by a breeze."  Have her leave in  a scandal-adjacent hubbub after being found out as actually being Donna Hayward (Twin Peaks)!  Then, due to her skinniness, she escapes the cuffs that Mike Cannon ( James Lesure) slaps on her and Donna/ "Monica Mancuso" disappears into the desert.

[MuuMuuChainsmoker]

In my world, Mike Ehrmantraut and Kaylee live in Idaho, where he runs a fly-fishing supply shop and quietly spends his secret ill-gotten millions in peace.  

[Primetimer]

Liv reports on a cyclopian episode of her favorite show.

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[John Potts]

I love the idea of Livvy having a secret vocabulary that she only uses at home... and in Podcasts broadcast around the world!

[Uncle Benzene]

Is it wrong that I hope Liv saying "badass" becomes a regular EHG feature?

I'm thinking like somebody just presses the button whenever Mike Ehrmantraut is mentioned, or Michonne. You know, that kind of thing. Also, whenever someone unleashes a particularly long and/or glorious string of profanity, "home talk!"

[Cekrypton1]

Oh man, Liv's discussion of "homewords" made me miss the regular EHG commentary on these segments so much. Awesome entry today.

[Aethera]

You joke, but I would watch the hell out of a Aaron Sorkin NASA tv show. In any other room each person on the show would be the smartest one, and even the jocks are scientists.

 

Episode 1 - "Pilot" 

The pilot for the next mission has contacted West Nile from while visiting family in Arizona, so he has to be replaced. The higher ups spend the episode going over who is the best option among the 3 candidates. 

 

 

I'm now really sad at the idea that an Aaron Sorkin NASA show isn't a thing. Or any NASA show, really. I would absolutely watch that!

[Aethera]

I purposely dropped Bones and Scandal this year, and we've dropped Gotham and Elementary sort of accidentally. I'll probably drop in for the series finale of Bones, if it ever ends, the way I did with the CSI movie, but Scandal and Gotham at least, I really don't care to find again. 

[Primetimer]

Jeff Alexander returns to talk Hell's Kitchen's favorite humor-free superhero.

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[profreader]

I remember seeing the original Helter Skelter when I was a kid -- or at least just some of it -- because, yeah, Steve Railsback was really, really disturbing and scared the shit out of me. I didn't bother to watch the remake -- I'd heard it was pretty blah.

Great Nonac submission -- I never know why networks always have to kill any golden goose by over-milking it (okay you can't milk a goose but... you know.) I was a real fan of the Office when it was at its peak -- but once it tipped over, forget it. I think this was close to the time that I bailed -- it felt like the writers thought, oh with this mockumentary format they can just do any damn thing and it will work, because people love these characters so much. Nope.

[heshy]

I didn't know where else to put this but OH NO

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/bensons-james-noble-dead-at-94/ar-BBr4gQb?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=mailsignout

[AndreaK1041]

I agree with that not being a Nonac. Any episode with James Spader or the ones in the last season where Pam was having a relationship with the camera guy were all so much worse. Not that this was good, and the argument of this being the beginning of the end was certainly compelling. But the end was SO BAD. I don't even see those in syndication.

[jellysalmon]

I think it was a good submission though. It was around the time that I stopped watching The Office. I personally didn't even care for Michael Scott all that much because he was the one that instigated non-plots like Cafe Disco. It wasn't his departure that made me stop, it was episodes like this where there were more cringe moments than funny ones.

[Dave in Chicago]

I think "The Office" is a tough sell for the NONAC, as others are saying - when it got bad, it got BAD. There's so much to choose from.

This week's "Untucked" was full-on delightful, just a total ray of sunshine. I used to ignore "Untucked" for the most part but it's become really essential.

[vendredi3]

.

Edited March 30, 2016 by vendredi3

[Primetimer]

TV characters turned advice columnists.

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[DavidJSnyder]

Harry Kim was actually the Operations Officer on Voyager.  (Tuvok was Tactical).  I'm sure that would have cleared things up.

[LAFR]

Thank you Sarah for talking about watching Untucked instead of RuPaul's Drag Race. as the same argument can be made for listening to the Again with This podcast instead of watching the shows. :)

[Fukui San]

I'm kind of fascinated whenever a Nonac submission comes up as I can see you all coming up with a body of law as you go.  Unwritten NONAC Rules (as far as I can tell):

 

• Nonacs can only be chosen from Canon-worthy shows. Bad episodes of middling shows will not be chosen. Gray area: Would shows that are possibly Canon-worthy but not in the Canon yet be eligible?  Could someone successfully pitch an Amazing Race Nonac, for example? That's never been pitched to the Canon as far as I remember, but I'd expect at least one or two episodes would make it.
• Nonacs can only be chosen from the well-regarded seasons of those shows. I'd presume that an episode from the 25th season of the Simpsons would not be chosen, because what did you expect?
• Nonacs must be among the worst of the worst of a show.  I feel that the top 5-10% of a great show would be Canon-worthy, but that the standards of the Nonac seem stricter, like bottom 1%, even after establishing that there can be more than one Nonac per show.

 

I am not sure if there is a respresentativity rule for the Nonac. Like, does the Nonac have to represent the show as a whole?  Could a bottle episode featuring one character of a larger cast be Nonac worthy?  Have any been Canon worthy?  The issue comes up, but I don't think there has been a definitive judgment.