Oscar Isaac looks haunted in the Super Bowl spot for Moon Knight! Moon Knight streams on March 30th.
Category Archives: TV Show
Great Moments In Television History #16: Maude Flanders Gets Hit By A T-Shirt Cannon
Twenty-two years ago, on this very date, this happened on The Simpsons:
Today, it is easy to forget what an impact the death of Maude Flanders had on viewers. We are now used to semi-regular characters dying on TV shows and, of course, no one really cares that much about The Simpsons any more.
In 2000, though, this was a big deal. There were weeks of speculation over which Simpsons character would die, though most of us figured that it would be Maude Flanders early on. Maude had never been a major character, as Rev. Lovejoy pointed out in his eulogy. Plus, the actress that voice Maude, Maggie Roswell, had left the show. (Roswell later returned.) At the time, killing Maude was a controversial move, especially as she died as a result of Homer acting like a jerk. (Then again, everything that ever happened in Springfield was a result of Homer acting like a jerk.) Some critics complained that the show treated her death too cavalierly and that such morbid subject matter did not belong on a show like The Simpsons. But, as the show’s producers pointed out, the death of Maude also opened the door for new storylines involving Ned Flanders and, as a result, Ned became one of the few characters on the show to actually grow as a person.
Even though Ned was invented to act as a foil to Homer and he’s been the victim of some lazy writing (especially in the more recent season), Ned Flanders has a dedicated fan base and a lot it is due to him being one of the few people in Springfield to actually show any sort of decency on a consistent basis. That Homer is incapable of understanding that Ned is the only person (outside of the family) that he can depend on is one of the show’s best and longest-running jokes. As a character, Ned was at his best when he was coming to terms with Maude’s death, learning how to date again, and even forgiving Homer for the role he played in the tragedy. (Homer never really seemed to realize that it was all his fault. Typical Homer.) The show deserved more than a little credit for how it handled the fallout of Maude’s death, from Rod and Todd’s sadness to Ned’s very temporary loss of faith. Over the upcoming years, Ned Flanders went to marry Edna Krapapple and, after the passing of Carol Wallace, became a widower for a second time.
One final note: Marvin Monroe later turned out to be alive so I wonder who was buried in his grave at teh cemetery.
Previous Great Moments In Television History:
- Planet of the Apes The TV Series
- Lonely Water
- Ghostwatch Traumatizes The UK
- Frasier Meets The Candidate
- The Autons Terrify The UK
- Freedom’s Last Stand
- Bing Crosby and David Bowie Share A Duet
- Apaches Traumatizes the UK
- Doctor Who Begins Its 100th Serial
- First Night 2013 With Jamie Kennedy
- Elvis Sings With Sinatra
- NBC Airs Their First Football Game
- The A-Team Premieres
- The Birth of Dr. Johnny Fever
- The Second NFL Pro Bowl Is Broadcast
Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 2/6/22 — 2/13/22
It’s been quite a week. The Oscar nominations were announced. The creepiest Winter Games ever have been playing out in China. South Park revealed that some people apparently didn’t understand that Tolkein was named after the author of The Hobibt and Lord of the Rings. (Like, seriously, you guys…..) And the z-list celebs on Celebrity Big Brother revealed themselves to be taking the show way too seriously.
Here’s a few thoughts on what I watched this week:
Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)
Chaos on a train! Rene thought he and Yvette were going to elope on the Geneva Express but unfortunately, his wife Edith found Rene’s note and thought that it was meant for her. While Rene wandered the train, trying to hook up with his two mistresses without his wife noticing, Herr Flick, Lt. Gruber, and a host of others wandered the train in search for the valuable original copy of the painting known as The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies. Things got a bit chaotic on the train and they were even more chaotic back at the Cafe, where Officer Crabtree and his mangled French offered up very little in the way of help. I laughed, I always do.
The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)
I wrote about the latest episode of The Amazing Race here. The Amazing Race has been a bit odd this season. Due to the COVID lockdowns, two of the strongest teams ended up dropping out of the race. As a result, we are late into the race and there are currently three strong teams and then two teams that basically can’t even read a road map. The two weaker teams would never have lasted this long in a normal season. I’m going to laugh and laugh if one of them somehow manages to win. As of right now, though, it seems as if the oddly robotic but hyper competent team of Kim & Penn have to be considered the favorites.
BBC World News (Tuesday Morning, BBC)
I watched the Oscar nomination announcements on the BBC because, unlike ABC, the BBC actually showed all of the categories instead of just showing the major nominees. (Add to that, why would anyone want to watch Oscar analysis from George Stephanopoulos?) I have to admit that I enjoyed the BBC’s take on the nominations, which basically amounted to, “Quite a few nominations for Belfast, that’s a win for our side.”
Celebrity Big Brother (CBS and Paramount Plus)
I wrote about Celebrity Big Brother for the Big Brother Blog. I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of celebrity reality competition shows to begin with and Celebrity Big Brother tends to be the worst of them all. Since celebrities really don’t have much at stake in these games, most of them just leave the House when things get too intense, like Chris Kattan did earlier this week. As for the remaining celebrity houseguests, Todd Bridges is an idiot and Toddrick Hall seems to be taking this whole thing just a little bit too seriously. Don’t ruin your brand just to give Julie Chen something to talk about.
King of the Hill (Weekday Afternoon, FXX)
Among the episodes I watched on Monday afternoon, there was one where Hank got to carry the Olympic flame and Dale got a chance to use the flame to light his cigarette. Go, Hank! Go, Dale! That was back when the Olympics were something special.
On Thursday, after getting disgusted with all of the propaganda at the Winter Games, I again turned over to FXX and watched a few episodes of King of the Hill. I watched five episodes, from Lucky trying to sue Dale to Launne getting married to Boomhauer surfing at Corpus Christi. It was fun and took my mind off what Boomhauer would call “the dang ol’ enormity of it all.”
The Love Boat (MeTV, Sunday Afternoon)
Yay! It was a 70s Valentine’s cruise! Love was in the air and cocaine was probably backstage. Sailing on the Love Boat were Patty Duke, Frankie Avalon, Barbie Benton, Denny Evans, Jamie Farr, Ricky Nelson, and Carole White! A computer program that was designed to link everyone to their ideal Valentine’s Day partner caused havoc on the boat but everything worked out in the end. That’s the important thing.
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Because I have the world’s worst martyr complex, I wrote about the latest episode of Pam & Tommy here.
South Park (Wednesday Night, Comedy Central)
For the record, I always knew his name was Tolkien. I don’t know what the Hell was wrong with the rest of you.
The Winter Olympics (All Week, NBC and Other Stations)
On Sunday night, I watched figure skating. Even though I’m not as into the Olympics this year as I’ve been in previous years, there’s still no way that I would miss figure skating, curling, yeti hunting, and that weird sport where they ski and shoot a rifle.
On Monday morning, I watched that very sport, with the skiing and the rifle shooting. It still seemed like a strange sport to me but, as I watched, I also realized that it was probably the only Olympic event that James Bond would have enjoyed (and, by that, I mean Roger Moore’s joyful Bond as opposed to Daniel Craig’s whiny Bond) and I was happy about that. Later, I watched some curling and I seriously think I could do well with that sport. I know how to work a broom.
On Wednesday, I watched some skiing and that totally freaked me out, just because I’ve heard so many stories about people slamming into trees. Agck! Then, on Thursday, I watched a bit more curling and that definitely left me less freaked out than the skiing. You can’t hurt anyone with a broom, unless you’re Jackie Chan in an 80s movie.
Saturday morning, I watched some figure skating, which I loved. I also watched some ski jumping and I marveled at how fake the snow looked. Apparently, they’ve been using fake snow for the Winter Olympics because it’s not actually that cold or snowy in Beijing. That’s weird and strange and yet somehow appropriate for these uniquely uninspiring games.
WKRP In Cincinnati (MeTV, Sunday Afternoon)
Radio DJ Johnny Fever got a job hosting a television dance show and sold out his soul to play disco music. Fortunately, Johnny was able to vanquish his evil Rip Tide identity at the end of the episode. At one point, Johnny’s TV boss said that she loved the 60s and would love to “get mellow and listen to the Dead” after the show and I was like, “Oh my God, they allowed people talk about weed on TV back then?” You learn something new every day.
*Spoilers* Reacher, S1 Ep3, “Spoonful”, Review By Case Wright, (Dir: Stephen Surjik)
We need to create a list of people in this show who don’t want to kill Jack Reacher. I can think of three people… Oscar, Roscoe, and maybe….Jasper. Jasper could snap. How many times can you dig testicles out of a dead man’s stomach before you go homicidal… twice… three times?! Not many more (see below).
We learn from BRIEF exposition that Jack’s estranged brother Joe was in the Secret Service and high up boss: Director of special investigations – anti-counterfeiting. Somehow Margrave is involved in counterfeiting?! What’s special about Reacher is that at its heart it’s a Whodunnit. It’s a mystery with so much action, but it’s a mystery show like if Sherlock Holmes traded in his opium for LOTS of freeweights. Jasper identifies the latest murder victim as a trucker who worked for Kliner. This trucker got into a jam and got a high priced lawyer somehow to get him out of it.
They develop a plan: Oscar will search a crooked prison guard’s home and Reacher goes to the lawyer posing as a prospective client. Both end with severe beatings. Oscar gets beaten and arrested by redneck cops who mistake him for a burglar and Reacher just plain beats up the lawyer until he gives up information. Obviously, they are planning on taking this case to court.
The next plan is to confront KIiner at his office. Why? This did not make sense, but it enabled Oscar to show some more emotions. With their hand tipped, EVERYONE has to go into quasi-hiding. This town really sucks. Roscoe has a run-in with the world’s most obvious sociopath- KJ- Kliner’s horrible kid. KJ tries to drive a wedge in Roscoe and Reacher’s relationship by accusing him of being a war criminal. We all hate KJ. Oscar goes to Atlanta to find some intel on Hubble the accountant. Hubble stopped coming to the Atlanta office for work a year ago. What was he doing? Well, money laundering. So…. Ok, I guess Oscar just really wanted to hangout in Atlanta. Yes, there’s a lot going on.
Reacher goes back to crooked prison guard’s bar to find him. He doesn’t, but he does get to beat the Hell out of several people. The crooked prison guard skipped town. Once again, Reacher is tailed by two South American Hitmen who try really really hard to kill him, but Reacher beats them to the punch and shoots them dead. Reacher discovers the crooked prison guard is dead in their trunk. I really need to get a body count on this show; we have to be edging into Total Recall territory.
This is a fun episode and it really forces all the heroes to understand that there will be no arrests. This is the wild west and it’s murder and vengeance every single day.
TV Review: Pam & Tommy 1.4 “The Master Beta” (dir by Lake Bell)
“I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
That was my thought after I published my review of the first three episodes of Pam & Tommy. Don’t get me wrong. I stand by everything that I wrote in that review. The first three episodes were relatively well-made and they captured as specific point in time and Lily James was likably earnest as Pam.
Instead, my concern came from the fact that, by reviewing the first three episodes, I had now committed myself to watching and reviewing the entire series. And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was no way that Pam & Tommy could remain interesting for a total of 8 hours, not unless the show abandoned its Ryan Murphy-lite approach and did something really unexpected with its recreation of the story. There’s just not enough there. This is a good 2-hour story but Pam & Tommy is an 8-epiosde miniseries. That’s 8-plus hours of Pam getting upset, Tommy acting like a dumbass, and Rand being every creepy guy who has ever approached you in a bar and started asking you about the book you’re reading. (It would, of course, never occur to him that the main reason you’re reading the book is to avoid talking to guys like him.)
Having now watched the fourth episode, it’s hard not to feel that I was very much correct in my concerns. Don’t get me wrong. The fourth episode had its moments. It featured an enjoyably intense performance from Don Harvey as the legendary Hollywood private investigator, Anthony Pellicano. Once Tommy finally discovers that his safe has been stolen and Pam reminds him about the videotape, Pellicano is the man who they approach to track down the perpetrator. This leads to a scene of Pellicano beating the crap out of Rand and it’s fun to watch. Some of that is because Don Harvey is a master of portraying urbane menace. But I have to admit that a lot of it is because Rand himself is such an annoying character. This episode opened with Seth Rogen, as Rand, wandering around a porn set and trying to reconnect with his estranged wife (Taylor Schilling), who significantly was just trying to read Anne Rice’s latest book when he approached her. Just the sight of Rand, with his mullet and his sad-sack facial expression, was so annoying that it was actually cathartic to see him get tossed around his apartment.
The problem is that the show wants us to feel some sympathy for Rand but there’s nothing sympathetic about him. He’s a loser and the fact that he still loves his wife and still wants to take care of her doesn’t make him any less of a loser. He’s a thief, a guy who accidentally stole a sex tape and then decided to put it online. The fact that he later feels guilty doesn’t change the fact that he did it. There’s as scene in the fourth episode where Rand is upset to see someone else selling bootleg copies of the tape. On the one hand, it’s not a bad scene. There’s an enjoyable irony to Rand discovering that someone has essentially stolen the tape from him after Rand went through so much trouble to steal the tape from Tommy. But the show doesn’t seem to be sure whether it wants us to laugh at Rand’s misfortune or to sympathize with him as he realizes that the consequences of his actions are out of his control. As a character, Rand is not compelling enough for both to be an option.
As for the title characters, both Sebastian Stan and Lily James do their best but I get the feeling that we’ve already learned all the we need to know about them. There was one good moment that examined Pam and Tommy’s different reactions to the release of the sex tape but otherwise, neither Tommy nor Pam are really that interesting as characters. I ended the fourth hour of Pam & Tommy very much aware that there were still four more hours to go. What else, I found myself wondering, could be left to be said?
Reacher, S1 Ep2, “First Dance”, Review by Case Wright (Dir. Sam Hill), Teleplay- Scott Sullivan
The cold opens in this show are awesome; the end of the last episode feeds right into the opening of the following episode. It is literally a long movie. Reacher needs to follow up his next lead with Paul’s wife (Kristen Kreuk) and sneaks around the house and finds a vegetation clue- Really. Reacher is Sherlock Holmes/Shane/Batman. This small clue leads him to where his brother’s killer lied in wait. I know that I’m throwing a lot at you, but you have to understand that this show does not let up- There is no exhaling. You are like Reacher; you can’t stop. Then, he beats A LOT of people who try to mess with him. Why? Just why? Messing with Reacher…. ohhhh… bad idea. Side note: he’s got a soft spot for animals. I can relate to this man… so well, except he’s a bit taller.
The people killing off these Margrave residents are rough; I didn’t know you could mix crucifixion and castration, but here we are. I need a counter-clicker like they have a sporting events to keep track of all of the murders.
The writer and director establish that the town officials are as crooked as a mountain road. The killers see Charlie, Paul’s wife, as a loose end so she has to run her for her life with her children and go into hiding. Venezuelan special forces are trying to kill Reacher…and well everyone who connected to this unknown criminal enterprise.
Side note: Reacher never wears a shirt. I’m assuming it’s because of an allergy fabric sensitivity.
Roscoe is assigned to keep tabs on Reacher and it leads to dancing and partial nudity. I know that reads as contrived, but it did seem to work. There is real chemistry between Reacher and Roscoe. Sam Hill, the director, is not just great setting up tension, but he knows how to pace a story. However, they all seem to be anti-shirt. You see more shirt-wearing at a pool.
The episode ends with Roscoe seeing that her house was raided and she is targeted by the killers as well. Who isn’t marked for death?! How do they even get the mail in this town?
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Watch this show!
Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/30/22 — 2/5/22
As I promised last week, I spent most of this week getting caught up on movies. Here’s some thoughts on what little television I did watch:
Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)
Though the episode aired on Sunday, I didn’t get to watch it until Friday and I have to admit that I was a bit out of it at the time, so don’t even ask me to explain just what exactly happened. I do remember that Officer Crabtree had a conversation in which he mangled the French language. I know that happens every episode but still, it always makes me laugh.
The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)
I wrote about the latest episode of The Amazing Race here!
The Bachelor (Monday Night, ABC)
Claytonbot continued to learn human emotions while the bachelorettes continued to accuse each other of not being on the show for the right reasons. Claytonbot even cancelled the cocktail party due to some drama that was definitely totally real and in no way staged. Like, totally, for real.
Bar Rescue (Weekday Mornings, Paramount TV)
I watched an episode on Tuesday. A bartender couldn’t make the perfect Manhattan so Jon Taffer condemned everyone who worked at the bar to Hell.
Celebrity Big Brother (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Night)
I wrote about Celebrity Big Brother, the show that I love to hate, over at the Big Brother Blog.
Football Game: Bengals vs. Chiefs (Sunday Night, Fox)
I was happy when the Bengals won because they wear those cute helmets with the stripes.
Football Games: 49ers vs Rams (Sunday afternoon, CBS)
Everyone’s a winner as far as I’m concerned! Yay! But, on a much more realistic note, the Rams won. Or was it the 49ers? I can’t remember for sure. Either way, congrats.
Full House (Sunday Mornings, MeTV)
I watched two episodes on Sunday. Uncle Jesse was upset that no one cared about his crappy cover band. I have to wonder if the band themselves ever resented having all of Danny Tanner’s bratty children wandering around the place while they were trying to rehearse. Also, why didn’t they rehearse in the garage as opposed to that cramped living room? I haven’t seen that many episodes of Full House but I’m getting the feeling that this show often did not make sense.
The Love Boat (Sunday Evening, MeTV)
It was a Halloween episode so everyone wore a costume. Woo hoo!
The Office (All Week, Comedy Central)
On Friday, I watched the “Search Committee” episode, which I’ve always considered to be one of those shows biggest mistakes. This was after Michael had left, D’Angelo had died, and Dwight had fired a gun in the office. Jo appointed Gabe, Jim, and Toby to interview applicants to be the new manager and, of course, all of the applicants were played by celebrities. The cameos were distracting and I still don’t understand why James Spader’s bland take on Robert California led to the show being massively restructured during the following season. Of the celebs who interviewed, Ray Romano actually came across like he would have been the best fit for the show’s style but, if I remember correctly, Romano was already on another show at the time. Personally, I think that, instead of trying to find another Steve Carell, they should have just hired some nondescript nobody to play the manager and spent the last seasons of The Office concentrating on the people working there.
I can still remember watching this episode when it originally aired. At the time, I actually felt a bit of dread when Andy Bernard showed up to be interviewed because I knew he was probably going to end up with the job. Andy was a funny character during his first two seasons with the show but, after that, Ed Helms’s performance started to become oddly needy. All of the flaws that made Andy an unfortunate choice to be at the center of the season 8 were present in the “Search Committee” episode.
Finally, I have to ask — why would Jo put Jim on the Committee? How does that make any sense? He already had managerial experience so why didn’t she just promote him?
Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)
Granville seemed to be really upset about something. As usual, Arkwright was too busy obsessing on Nurse Gladys Emmanuel to care. This was definitely an episode that I had seen before.
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
I wrote about the first three episodes of Pam & Tommy here.
Parking Wars (Tuesday Morning, A&E)
The indie towing guys took a man’s truck and then laughed when the man said that he was going to lose his job and wouldn’t be able to feed his family. What a bunch of scumbags. “I feel bad for him but he came here cussing and I got no sympathy for that.” ANY SYMPATHY, you illiterate fascist!
The View (Weekday Mornings, ABC)
It’s been a very long time since I’ve watched The View but I decided to watch it on Tuesday to see how they would deal with Whoopi Goldberg outing herself as being incredibly ignorant on the subject of the Holocaust. It turns out that they didn’t really deal with it. Whoopi briefly interviewed the president of the ADL, who mentioned that The View had never had a Jewish co-host. The show then went to commercial and we came back with Whoopi and the gang talking about “you know who,” which I guess is their way of referring to Trump. Later, Charlie Day was interviewed. I like Charlie Day. For one thing, he’s not an anti-Semite.
That night, after the show aired, ABC announced that Whoopi would be suspended for two weeks. For the record, I don’t think Whoopi’s comments were malicious, at least not in the way that Nick Cannon’s anti-Semitic comments were. (It’s kind of weird how Nick basically repeated the same anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have, for centuries, been used to justify the persecution of the Jewish people but, afterwards, was allowed to keep his job as host of The Masked Singer and was also giving his own talk show. Like seriously, how the Hell does that happen?) I think Whoopi’s comments were ignorant and the fact that she doubled down on them, on both the show and apparently later on Colbert, shows the type of arrogance that only comes from never having to deal with anyone openly disagreeing with you. I’d rather that, instead of suspending her and waiting for everything the blow over, The View would have used this opportunity to educate both Goldberg and the show’s viewers. Whoopi Goldberg is 66 years old and, we are constantly told, a smart woman. That she could be so ignorant is definitely a cause for concern.
The Winter Olympics (Weekdays, NBC and other stations)
I’ve tried to watch a little of The Olympics but the whole thing just feels icky this year. As soon as the Olympics Committee guy started quoting John Lennon during the opening ceremonies, I had to look away. I imagine I’ll watch a bit of skating and maybe some curling. But I’m definitely in no way enthusiastic about the Olympics this year.
Reacher, S1 Ep1, “Welcome to Margrave” Review by Case Wright (Dir. Thomas Vincent)
Reacher is the greatest show in ten-years! In fairness, I’m a fan of Alan Ritchson (Titans) and Malcolm Goodwin (iZombie). These men have deserved a series for A WHILE!!! It’s great to see talented people have success. It’s how it should be. It reaffirms the power of great art; it can’t be stopped. Thomas Vincent, the director, appears to be on the arthouse side. I was stunned to find out that an arthouse director pulled me into this action packed show by my proverbials. Nick Santora wrote this pilot perfectly. I was pulled deeper into every scene. We need to work on new adjectives to describe how good this show is.
What makes a great Pilot? It has to establish all of the characters, immediate danger/conflict, a mythology, and show not tell. This show had barely any exposition at all. I haven’t seen that done in years. In a time, when lazy writing is the norm, this show tosses all of that aside. Alan was born to play this part. I will get into this deeper later on, but he has the most believable portrayal of a Veteran since Battlestar Galactica. Someone helped Alan act like us and he did a great job of it.
“Welcome to Margrave” opens with Jack Reacher walking toward a diner with no obvious possessions. Reacher is rapidly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and he’s pulled into this town’s intrigue and bodies are dropping. He walks with some discomfort, which is clear in the pilot until the last scene. Why was this important? Veterans always kind of feel a little naked because we’re permanently out of uniform. We never really get over it. We’re always just a little fish out of water.
Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) the chief detective has no idea where to begin to solve these murders. The town is just 1700 people in there are two people dead by the end of the pilot. Finlay discerns that a local business accountant Paul Hubble is involved and tries to get him to talk to Reacher by locking them both up at the local prison. However, unknown to Finlay, someone wants Reacher and Paul dead. Let’s take just a moment to offer some respect to the writer and director for opting for the hard road of storytelling. They’ve set all of this conflict up without an exposition fest -that takes talent and discipline. It also leads to the greatest fight scene I’ve ever seen. Not since the Titans “Pilot” did I see a fight scene of this caliber. It topped it.
This show has heart, violence, mystery and intensity. Reacher discovers that the second body is his brother Joe. His physicality changes; he’s more relaxed in both speech and walking. Why? Because now Reacher has a mission: Revenge. Alan Ritchson pulled this transformation off brilliantly.
I have to also discuss Malcolm Goodwin as Finlay. His marriage is failed and now his career is a mess because this town is confronted with two murders in two days. His performance is like a pressure cooker; he’s trying desperately not to explode. I loved it.
I highly recommend this show. It should be picked up immediately!
TV Review: Pam & Tommy Episode 1-3 (dir by Craig Gillipsie)
Currently (and, presumably, forever) available on Hulu, Pam & Tommy is a miniseries about …. well, it’s about many things.
It’s about the mid-90s, a time when people still used terms like “World Wide Web” and where no one thought twice about having to wait two or three minutes for one lousy web site to finish loading. It’s about a time when dial-up internet was still considered to be something of an exotic luxury. It’s about a time when the number one show in the entire world was the critically derided Baywatch and the show’s star, Pamela Anderson, was trying to make the jump from television to film.
It’s also about the early days of online porn and how it was first discovered that people would pay money to watch celebrity sex tapes. It may seem strange to consider that this was something that needed to be discovered but, if you believe Pam & Tommy, apparently no one thought there was an audience for celebrity sex tapes before 1996. Today, of course, celebrity sex tapes are so common place that they’re often leaked by the celebrity themselves. Where would the Kardashians be if not for the celebrity sex tape industry? Could it be that Kim owes as much of her success to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee as she does to O.J. Simpson? Perhaps, which is a polite way of saying yes.
Pam & Tommy is also about the brief marriage of Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan). When Pam & Tommy begins, Pam, as mentioned above, is the star of the number one show in the world. Despite being a star, she’s not respected as an actress. Instead, she’s usually treated as just being a body. The show’s producers and directors have no trouble cutting her big monologue on a whim but they spend several minutes discussing just how tight her red swimsuit should be. (After cutting her monologue, they condescendingly thank her for being a team player.) Pam has a very earnest and somewhat heart-breaking desire to be taken seriously as an actress. She describes Jane Fonda as being her role model. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee is, for lack of a better term, an idiot. He’s also a drummer for a band that used to be big. He travels with an entourage. His body is covered with tattoos, the majority of which have no meaning to him beyond, “I just thought it looked cool.” Tommy is usually an arrogant bully, the epitome of the spoiled rock star. Occasionally, with Pam, he’s sweet but if this miniseries stays true to what actually happened during Pam and Tommy’s marriage, that sweetness is not going to last.
Finally, Pam & Tommy is the story of Rand Gautheir (Seth Rogen). Much like Tommy, Rand is a moron. However, Rand has neither Tommy’s looks nor his swagger. Instead, he’s just a schlub who works as a carpenter and tries way too hard to present himself as being an intellectual. After Tommy humiliates Rand by firing him from a remodeling job, Rand retaliates by stealing a safe from Tommy’s garage. (Tommy doesn’t even notice that it’s missing.) Inside the safe, Rand finds a sex tape that Tommy and Pam made on their honeymoon. With the help of gangster Butchie Periano (Andrew Dice Clay) and adult film veteran “Uncle” Miltie (Nick Offerman), Rand puts the video on the internet and plans to make a fortune. Rand tells himself that he’s doing it because Tommy didn’t pay him for his work but it’s clear that Rand’s main motivation is jealousy. Why should Tommy get a huge house and a beautiful wife while Rand is stuck in his little apartment? Rand is at least as smart as Tommy. Of course, the same could probably be said of the dog that Pam purchases when she and Tommy return from their honeymoon.
In other words, Pam & Tommy is about a very specific cultural moment. So far, the series is taking a stylized approach to the material, mixing occasionally broad comedy with more dramatic moments. Needless to say, it’s a bit uneven. During the second episode, Tommy actually has a conversation with his penis about whether or not he should marry Pam. It’s a funny idea but the scene itself goes on forever and, ultimately, the whole thing says more about the importance of generating twitter buzz than it does about why Tommy and Pam ended up getting married after knowing each other for only a handful of days. The first three episodes were directed by Craig Gillipsie, who also directed I, Tonya. Much like that film, Pam & Tommy is occasionally insightful but it also sometimes seems to get bogged down in its own condescending attitude towards the people who are at the center of its story.
And yet, there are also enough moments that work in Pam & Tommy that I’ll definitely watch the rest of the show. So far, this is a series that is largely saved by its cast. Seth Rogen has recently been so intent on presenting himself as being the only man in Hollywood with integrity that it’s easy to forget that he’s always been at his most entertaining (and sympathetic) whenever he’s been cast as a complete loser and it’s hard to think of anyone who could be a bigger loser than the character he plays in Pam & Tommy. Sebastian Stan plays Tommy as being a destructive manchild and, for the first two episodes, he’s pretty obnoxious. By the third episode, though, Stan is given a few quieter scenes and he manages to suggest that there’s something more to Tommy than just rock star bravado. And finally, Lily James gives a wonderfully empathetic performance as Pamela Anderson, capturing her earnest desire to be something more than just a sex symbol.
The first three episodes of Pam & Tommy dropped on Hulu this week. The remaining five episodes will be released on a weekly basis. I don’t really know how you get 8 episodes out of this particular story but I guess I’ll find out soon. Hopefully, the show will continue to focus on the best thing that it has going for it, its cast.
2021 In Review: 10 Good Things That I Saw On Television
I probably watched too much television in 2021. Oh well, such is life! Here are a few things that I enjoyed:
- The third and fourth seasons of Cobra Kai
Who would have guessed that The Karate Kid would eventually inspire one of the best shows on television? The show’s mix of comedy and drama is nearly perfect and, for that matter, so are the performances of William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Martin Kove, and Thomas Ian Griffith.
2. WandaVision
The Marvel television series have been pretty hit-and-miss for me but WandaVision was definitely a hit.
3. The Oscars
The Steven Soderbergh-produced ceremony was such a train wreck that it became oddly fascinating to watch. To be honest, the entire ceremony felt like a wonderful example of hubris. The ceremony was obviously designed to show the way to the future and, instead, it just made us long for the past. In many ways, it was the perfect symbol for America in 2021.
4 & 5. Allo Allo and Yes, Minister
Discovering these classic British sitcoms on PBS was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me!
6. America’s Most Wanted
It didn’t last very long but the America’s Most Wanted revival featured some really cool CGI.
7. Gangs of London
This British crime show was complex but always compelling.
8. The Ultimate Surfer
This silly reality show featured a lot of good-looking people getting wet. What more can you ask for?
9. The final season of The Walking Dead got off to a good start.
Everything has to end sometimes.
10. Dexter: New Blood
Dexter is back! But for how long?
Lisa Marie’s 2021 In Review:
Through the Shattered Lens