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[TV] OCTOBER 2018 DISCUSSION


Dolfan in NYC

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3 hours ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

On the topic of potentially out of touch rich folks, would someone already being a millionaire be disqualifying if you had a vote at the final tribal council on Survivor? 

This is a really interesting question.  I've never watched Survivor, but I'd probably vote for whomever needed the money the most.  To be honest, I'd lobby for every contestant to get at least half that for all the stuff they have to go through while CBS makes millions off their suffering.

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11 hours ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

On the topic of potentially out of touch rich folks, would someone already being a millionaire be disqualifying if you had a vote at the final tribal council on Survivor? 

I haven't watched Survivor in years but I can sort of remember some old Jimmy Carter looking guy from one of the first few seasons getting bounced towards the end because he was wealthy. Also, didn't former NFL backup QB Gary Hogeboom act like he was some poor farmer because he thought he'd get voted out early if everyone on the island knew who he was?

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Dee's Elaine is getting slept on. She nailed the JLD mannerisms. That whole segment was great. I hope they filmed more and release it or something.

As for the sitcom debate, I have to go with Curb overall with Seinfeld and Always Sunny right behind it. I was rewatching the entire series recently and aside from feeling a little stale in Season 5, it's been borderline perfect for me. Even after the staleness in 5, they added Leon in season 6 which gave the show a whole new energy.

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Regarding jokes and sitcoms and sensitivity, I HIGHLY suggest listen to the Armchair Expert podcast that had Michael Schur on as the guest. This was during the "Good Place" week. Anyway, he talked about his philosophy when it comes to joke writing and it was very thoughtful. There's a reason why damn near everything he touches is gold. Anyway, it ties in nicely to what was being discussed on the last page and it's a great examination of what comedy is now, at least on TV, in this day and age.

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On 10/18/2018 at 5:33 PM, supremebve said:

Dude, are you Michael Scott?  Michael Scott is funny because he doesn't understand why it's not OK to be Michael Scott.  The reason that it works is because the entire rest of the cast acknowledges that nothing he is doing is OK.  The only reason any of his shit is funny is because he has no idea that what he is doing isn't funny, but everyone else is hyper-aware that it's not funny.  That is the joke that his entire character is based on.  If the rest of the office was laughing with him the show wouldn't work, the reason it works is because everyone else on the show recognizes how offensive his behavior his.  The only reason it is funny is that we all recognize that it's not funny.  If the show asked us to laugh with Michael Scott, and not at Michael Scott, the show wouldn't work. It is why the dinner party episode is so brilliant.  We spent the entire run of the show laughing at this dude, and then we see a glimpse into his home life.  We see that he treats people the way people treat him.  He see that he actually doesn't know any better.

This is the same with Larry David's character on Curb, so it's funny that @Edwin mentioned this show specifically as an example of comedians being allowed to not be "PC."  He's not some hero; everything is does is wrong and awkward and he IS the joke.  We're meant to laugh at him, not with him.  The one time his behavior is perceived by other characters as a positive to be used to their advantage ("The Social Assassin"), it backfires.  People who think Larry is some hero and his boorish behavior is "comedians being allowed to be comedians" are the same type of simple minded viewers who didn't understand that we were supposed to stop rooting for Walter White somewhere along the line.

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1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

This is the same with Larry David's character on Curb, so it's funny that @Edwin mentioned this show specifically as an example of comedians being allowed to not be "PC."  He's not some hero; everything is does is wrong and awkward and he IS the joke.  We're meant to laugh at him, not with him.  The one time his behavior is perceived by other characters as a positive to be used to their advantage ("The Social Assassin"), it backfires.  People who think Larry is some hero and his boorish behavior is "comedians being allowed to be comedians" are the same type of simple minded viewers who didn't understand that we were supposed to stop rooting for Walter White somewhere along the line.

We still going on about this? My point was previously clarified, but it apparently went over you head and yeah, simple minded viewers.

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4 hours ago, Technico Support said:

This is the same with Larry David's character on Curb, so it's funny that @Edwin mentioned this show specifically as an example of comedians being allowed to not be "PC."  He's not some hero; everything is does is wrong and awkward and he IS the joke.  We're meant to laugh at him, not with him.  The one time his behavior is perceived by other characters as a positive to be used to their advantage ("The Social Assassin"), it backfires.  People who think Larry is some hero and his boorish behavior is "comedians being allowed to be comedians" are the same type of simple minded viewers who didn't understand that we were supposed to stop rooting for Walter White somewhere along the line.

I have so many questions about anyone who roots for Walter White and/or Stringer Bell.  I love both shows, but those two characters are as reprehensible as human beings get.  I can't think of a single redeeming quality either of them have by the end.  They are pretty much what happens when a person puts their own selfish interests before everything else in life in a way that does irreparable harm to everyone around them.  

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1 hour ago, supremebve said:

I have so many questions about anyone who roots for Walter White and/or Stringer Bell.  I love both shows, but those two characters are as reprehensible as human beings get.  I can't think of a single redeeming quality either of them have by the end.  They are pretty much what happens when a person puts their own selfish interests before everything else in life in a way that does irreparable harm to everyone around them.  

I never watched The Wire but in Breaking Bad's case, I chalk it up to people who watch a show and immediately think "main character = protagonist, who I am supposed to root for and identify with, always!"  They just didn't get it.  So, for example, instead of seeing "I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS" as the pathetic cry of a man desperately trying to act like he's in control when he's obviously not, they saw White as this absolute badass and Skylar as a horrible harpy out to ruin his fun.  It's amazing.

Christ, dudes.  It wasn't even Walter who "knocked."  He wasn't "THE DANGER."  Jesse killed Gale.  The show went out of its way to underline Walter's bullshit and contrast what he said with reality, but some people still didn't get it.  You're supposed to see right through his bluster and it's crazy how many people didn't.

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2 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

I never watched The Wire but in Breaking Bad's case, I chalk it up to people who watch a show and immediately think "main character = protagonist, who I am supposed to root for and identify with, always!"  They just didn't get it.  So, for example, instead of seeing "I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS" as the pathetic cry of a man desperately trying to act like he's in control when he's obviously not, they saw White as this absolute badass and Skylar as a horrible harpy out to ruin his fun.  It's amazing.

Christ, dudes.  It wasn't even Walter who "knocked."  He wasn't "THE DANGER."  Jesse killed Gale.  The show went out of its way to underline Walter's bullshit and contrast what he said with reality, but some people still didn't get it.

Stringer is pretty much the same thing, except he took a couple community college classes and decided he was going to go "legit," but his idea of going legit was to sell out everyone around him and violate every principle that got him in the position to go legit in the first place.

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She hasn't technically been fired yet.  Probably because NBC is still on the hook for $69m in her contract and they might be trying to negotiate a way to get out of paying some of that before anything is officially announced.

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6 minutes ago, Tabe said:

She hasn't technically been fired yet.  Probably because NBC is still on the hook for $69m in her contract and they might be trying to negotiate a way to get out of paying some of that before anything is officially announced.

I honestly don't understand how being a public racist doesn't let you off the hook when you fire someone.  Did she negotiate a " you know I'm going to be a racist on television" clause in her contract?  

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1 minute ago, supremebve said:

I honestly don't understand how being a public racist doesn't let you off the hook when you fire someone.  Did she negotiate a " you know I'm going to be a racist on television" clause in her contract?  

Some variation of "you know I'm going to say controversial stuff, so you have to pay me no matter what" clause, yeah.

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NBC paid both Billy Bush and Matt Lauer full freight after they got fired for being shitheads and abusers respectively so I'm thinking their legal department might not be the cream of the crop.

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