S06.E08: Opioid Abuse and Richard Sackler

[Athena]

Quote

Other segments: Delay of Brexit, Julian Assange
Guests: Michael Keaton, Bryan Cranston, Michael K. Williams, Richard Kind

 

[Annber03]

Awesome stuff with the actors at the end there. I know what I'll be watching/reading over these next few days. Kudos to them for getting in on this. I'm glad to see people out protesting as well. I hope this story continues to be a big part of the news cycle and more prominent places start cutting ties. 

(And holy hell, yes, Cranston scared me when he was leaning forward at that table. I've not seen "Breaking Bad", but those segments with him make me want to change that.) 

As for the Brexit thing, loved both Oliver's new description of what the term means and his suggestion of how to solve that big ol' mess. Did I mention I really feel for you guys over in Britain who didn't vote for this insanity? 

That "Why would you say that?" segment. Oh, my god. 

[scarynikki12]

35 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

(And holy hell, yes, Cranston scared me when he was leaning forward at that table. I've not seen "Breaking Bad", but those segments with him make me want to change that.) 

Oh man, when Cranston brings out the scary it makes you want to hide under the bed.  It's the BEST.

All four men were great but Omar will always be my favorite.  And, yes, I absolutely shouted "OMAR!" at the screen as mandated by television law.

[ahisma]

Ah, now THAT is a fitting target for John's ire! 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

When John said they got an actor who played one of the greatest drug dealers in the history of television, I was hoping for Stringer Bell but I'll take Omar!

Richard Kind gets credit for finding a million ways to say, "I don't know."

Don't forget to check https://www.sacklergallery.com/

[attica]

14 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Don't forget to check https://www.sacklergallery.com/

I second this exhortation.  (And I endorse feeding all the actors while they work. Hee!)

I was hoping John would use the word 'Brextension', because it seems perfect and apt. There's still time, though! Till Halloween, in fact! Maybe UK will re-vote and come to its senses.

[ganesh]

To be technically correct, Omar wasn't a drug dealer. 

I don't see how Brexit is going to be solved strictly due to the Irish border. I'm not so sure May is even PM by then. 

[meowmommy]

14 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I've not seen "Breaking Bad", but those segments with him make me want to change that.

You need to see it.  And I'm someone who's seen almost nothing made in the last 40 years and rarely catches a current pop culture reference.  Shocking that I've seen both BB and The Wire.

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When John said they got an actor who played one of the greatest drug dealers in the history of television, I was hoping for Stringer Bell but I'll take Omar!

He was leading in to Bryan Cranston/Walter White.  John introduced MKW/Omar as, "we have access to the cast of another iconic drug drama."  Which of course The Wire is.

I'd have loved to see Idris Elba, too!

Michael Keaton was certainly busy this weekend, between this and his appearance on the SNL cold open.  

Richard Kind saying "I don't know" is the living embodiment of Fozzie Bear.

[peeayebee]

The Sackler segment was awesome. I went the the gallery site and watched a couple of clips. I will definitely watch them all when I have more time.

I miss Breaking Bad.

I miss The Wire.

[cpcathy]

2 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Richard Kind saying "I don't know" is the living embodiment of Fozzie Bear.

I was just thinking how Richard Kind is like a big teddy bear!

[mjc570]

How disappointing. Sorry, I'm tired of John talking (even briefly) about Brexit.  And I thought the Sackler segment could have been so much better, John was just taking cheap shots, without any kind of explanation or analysis.  Sure, the motivational rap video was ridiculous.  And, news flash, McKesson is a for profit company and will take steps to maximize its profits.  That's the outrageous aspect of this, which was not even mentioned by John.  Also:  mabye I'm too legalistic, but depositions really are very one-sided - that's the purpose, for one side to conduct discovery. 

On the other hand - those actors were absolutely awesome, with well-deserved  reputations.  That turkey sandwich looked good, though.

[Iguana]

Ok Jon. Now that’s an episode worthy of an Emmy submission. Use that tits and dragon money!  While Omar and the Vulture chilled me to the bone with the uncaring greed, Heisenberg terrified me with his intense menace.  I may have wet my pants a bit. And then Richard Kind comes along with his millions of goofily unique “l don’t knows” and all is well again. 

[sugarbaker design]

15 hours ago, mjc570 said:

McKesson is a for profit company and will take steps to maximize its profits.  That's the outrageous aspect of this, which was not even mentioned by John.  

It wasn't mentioned because it's a given.

[xaxat]

That was a really good episode. The concept of casting the four actors to play Sackler was great and Richard Kind as the non-cool example was brilliant. If they really did make a movie, I'd probably go with Keaton. He really sold the sandwich scene. 

18 hours ago, mjc570 said:

Also:  mabye I'm too legalistic, but depositions really are very one-sided - that's the purpose, for one side to conduct discovery. 

That's perfect for his purposes, public shaming. 

[BuyMoreAndSave]

On 4/15/2019 at 8:57 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When John said they got an actor who played one of the greatest drug dealers in the history of television, I was hoping for Stringer Bell but I'll take Omar!

Richard Kind gets credit for finding a million ways to say, "I don't know."

Don't forget to check https://www.sacklergallery.com/

I totally thought it was going to be Idris Elba too.

On 4/15/2019 at 9:31 AM, ganesh said:

To be technically correct, Omar wasn't a drug dealer. 

Neither was Walter White, who was a drug manufacturer.

On 4/15/2019 at 6:26 PM, mjc570 said:

And I thought the Sackler segment could have been so much better, John was just taking cheap shots, without any kind of explanation or analysis.  Sure, the motivational rap video was ridiculous.  And, news flash, McKesson is a for profit company and will take steps to maximize its profits.  That's the outrageous aspect of this, which was not even mentioned by John.  Also:  mabye I'm too legalistic, but depositions really are very one-sided - that's the purpose, for one side to conduct discovery. 

On the other hand - those actors were absolutely awesome, with well-deserved  reputations.  That turkey sandwich looked good, though.

I felt like it went on for too long. I like Bryan Cranston and Michael K Williams but it got repetitive and seemed a bit pointless.

He could have put more substance into this episode, but maybe he ran out of Frontline episodes to rip off LOL. But seriously there's way more that could be said about opioids and their connection to all kinds of societal problems. That money used to hire the actors for cameos could have been used on actual journalism instead. I would also like to see him do an episode on the alcohol industry, which kills even more people than opioids, in the interest of balance and fairness.

[meowmommy]

9 hours ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

That money used to hire the actors for cameos could have been used on actual journalism instead.

John Oliver is not now and has never claimed to be a journalist.  Or, as Jon Stewart brutally schooled Tucker Carlson, "You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls."

[DEL901]

8 hours ago, meowmommy said:

John Oliver is not now and has never claimed to be a journalist.  Or, as Jon Stewart brutally schooled Tucker Carlson, "You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls."

He actually insists pretty vocally that he isn’t a journalist.    His is an entertainment show.  The fact that it is both entertaining and informative is a huge plus.  

[Pete Martell]

I mostly found the use of the actors distracting and I thought it took away from the words they were saying. I was especially distracted by Michael Keaton, because when you see Michael Keaton, you're seeing Michael Keaton, not listening to what he's saying. 

I feel like John is torn between wanting to talk about serious subjects but not knowing how to get them across, and knowing how to get them across but assuming viewers can't go along. So we get episodes like this, or the one about automation which was so completely unfocused that by the time they got to a segment about residents beating up a robot, I zoned out.  

He's not a journalist, no, but he does want to make some kind of point with these sequences, and I wish he could trust himself enough to do so. 

[BuyMoreAndSave]

On 4/18/2019 at 12:06 AM, meowmommy said:

John Oliver is not now and has never claimed to be a journalist.  Or, as Jon Stewart brutally schooled Tucker Carlson, "You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls."

10 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I feel like John is torn between wanting to talk about serious subjects but not knowing how to get them across, and knowing how to get them across but assuming viewers can't go along. So we get episodes like this, or the one about automation which was so completely unfocused that by the time they got to a segment about residents beating up a robot, I zoned out.  

He's not a journalist, no, but he does want to make some kind of point with these sequences, and I wish he could trust himself enough to do so. 

Quote #2 is pretty much what my response is to Quote #1. Obviously the show has some sort of goal to educate viewers along with the entertainment, and I felt like it was lacking in this episode compared to most of the others.

[meowmommy]

1 hour ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

Obviously the show has some sort of goal to educate viewers along with the entertainment, and I felt like it was lacking in this episode compared to most of the others.

I do understand and appreciate the point you are making, but for me, while I certainly expect the topics John presents to have their basis in fact, I'm not ready to hold LWT to the standards of 60 Minutes.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

47 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I do understand and appreciate the point you are making, but for me, while I certainly expect the topics John presents to have their basis in fact, I'm not ready to hold LWT to the standards of 60 Minutes.

I never said it has to be like 60 Minutes. I just said I thought the lack of informational content made for filler that got boring and repetitive pretty quickly.

[xaxat]

This is about another opioid producer, not the Sackler family.  But I wonder if it increases the likelihood that they will also receive criminal punishment. 

Billionaire founder of opioid firm guilty of bribing doctors to prescribe drug