This scene is from The Strike episode of Seinfeld. Believe it or not, it is based on a true story. Scriptwriter Dan O’Keefe, who wrote this episode, grew up celebrating Festivus, a holiday that was created by his father. In the real Festivus, the aluminum pole was replaced by a clock that O’Keefe’s father would put in a bag and nail to a wall. To quote O’Keefe:
“The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year…I don’t know why, I don’t know what it means, he would never tell me. He would always say, ‘That’s not for you to know.'”
Every classic sitcom had a holiday-themed episode, and THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW was no exception. Andy and Ellie (Elinor Donahue) sing “Away in a Manger” and Aunt Bee serves up some home cookin’ for a family in trouble, while crotchety old Ben Weaver (the great character actor Will Wright) is on the outside looking in. It’s a perfect example of what made this show so great, and includes a guest appearance by Santa Claus… sort of!
Hello Gentle Readers! I’ve been MIA getting ready for the holiday spirit with Dental Surgical Planning! Before I’m sailing away on Vicodin, I’m giving you another genius review!!!
We begin with Ozzie doing a victory lap for exposing Jonathan. However, Ozzie gets some retribution when he’s asked whether he believes about Aliens and almost immediately caves. He has an opportunity to work on the New York Times, but the recruiter is embarrassed by his belief in aliens and splits.
Jonathan is at a hotel room with Nancy. He’s counting his millions in cash. Nancy attacks Jonathan. It turns out that she is a robot and has been taken over by Scroty. DUN DUN DUN. She tears Jonathan’s human suit, deprives him of his golden parachute, and pretty much bones him. Jonathan escapes penniless. *sniff* Scroty plans to use Nancy for his purposes and infiltrate Starcrossed.
Ozzie returns to Starcrossed a hero! The hippie lady brings the point home that his career is destroyed.
Father Doug takes out the trash and is abducted by …. aliens? Maybe?
Gerry is a bit of mess and is dumped by Joy. Sad.
Gina chastens Ozzie for revealing his alien beliefs on a podcast and not with the group. Nancy arrives at Starcrossed and begins to open up to the group and begins to come to terms with Kurt’s death. Richard is really attracted to Nancy and it’s funny.
Father Doug turns to the Starcrossed for help, but it is clear that he was just kidnapped. He goes to the police and Starcrossed. Jon H Benjamin explains that he might have to contact the Archdiocese. Father Doug caves and kicks out Starcrossed. Sad.
The New York Times recruiter convinces Ozzie to go back to New York and walk back his story.
Richard tries to mack on Nancy and gives away that Gina drives the car that killed Kurt.
I’m going to try for one more post before I leave for dental surgery.
In this scene from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, David Bowie stops by the home of his old friend, Sir Percival Crosby, and meets Sir Percy’s long-lost American relative, Bing Crosby! A discussion of modern music and parenting techniques leads to them performing a duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.
This was Bing’s final Christmas special and he died just five weeks after filming completed. This scene is a holiday classic and has been described. by the Washington Post, as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history.”
When asked about David Bowie, Bing said he was “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well.”
Earlier the year, I choose not to see Captain Fantastic. Every bit of advertising that I saw for it led me to believe that Captain Fantastic was basically just Wes Anderson-lite and, as we all know, only Wes Anderson can successfully duplicate Wes Anderson.
Well, I think I may have made a mistake because Viggo Mortensen is definitely in the hunt for best actor. Though most of the precursor awards (so far) have gone to Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea, Mortensen still seems like a likely nominee.
Just consider this: he got a SAG nomination! And so did Captain Fantastic, itself! It was nominated for best ensemble, which is the SAG equivalent of best picture…
Actually, maybe you shouldn’t spend too much time fixating on that. People like me always talk about how the SAG awards are an obvious precursor for the Oscars. Our logic is that the Actor’s Branch is the largest voting bloc in the Academy and the members of the Actor’s Branch are among those who also vote for the SAG awards.
Of course, we always forget that the majority of SAG members are themselves not a part of the Academy. So, while enough members of SAG may have liked Captain Fantastic for it to get an unexpected ensemble nomination, that doesn’t necessarily mean that those voters are also members of the Academy.
So, let’s put it like this — it’s a good sign for a film or a performer to get a SAG nomination. But there’s still no guarantee that it will translate into Oscar recognition. Captain Fantastic may have been nominated and La La Land was snubbed (for ensemble). But I imagine that the reverse will happen when the Oscar noms are announced in January.
With all that in mind, here are the SAG nominations!
FILM
Best Film Ensemble “Captain Fantastic” “Fences” “Hidden Figures” “Manchester by the Sea” “Moonlight”
Best Actor Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”
Best Actress Amy Adams, “Arrival”
Emily Blunt, “The Girl on the Train”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Best Comedy Ensemble “The Big Bang Theory” “Black-ish” “Modern Family” “Orange is the New Black” “Veep”
Best Comedy Actor Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Titus Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”
Best Comedy Actress Uzo Aduba, “Orange is the New Black”
Jane Fonda, “Grace & Frankie”
Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace & Frankie”
Best Drama Ensemble “The Crown” “Downton Abbey” “Game of Thrones” “Stranger Things” “Westworld”
Best Drama Actor Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
John Lithgow, “The Crown”
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
Best Drama Actress Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Thandie Newton, “Westworld”
Winona Ryder, “Stranger Things”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Best Movie/Miniseries Actor Riz Ahmed, “The Night Of”
Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”
Bryan Cranston, “All The Way”
John Turturro, “The Night Of”
Courtney B Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”
Best Movie/Miniseries Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, “Black Mirror”
Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”
Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”
Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”
Kerry Washington, “Confirmation”
Best Stunt Ensemble “Game of Thrones”
“Daredevil”
“Luke Cage”
“The Walking Dead”
“Westworld”
People of Earth is usually 80/20- Comedy/Drama; however, this particular episode was full-on tug at your heartstrings 80/20 Drama/Comedy. If not done well, this switch can undermine or derail a show, but Norm Hiscock (writer) really delivered something unique and tenderhearted. In fact, I’ve been thinking about his episode for most of the time since I watched it. You begin thinking that the story will be all about Jerry saying goodbye; instead, Norm gives us an episode about love, family, and basic human… even tribal bonds.
When I first learned screenwriting, my teacher made me make list all of the things that would worry a caveman.
I responded: finding a mate, a bad king, predators, and natural disasters.
He responded: SEE!
Then, he wrote on the board “When Harry Met Sally”, “Nixon”, “Predator”, and “Day After Tomorrow”. “We are moved by movies because they tap into our genetic fears and desires.”
This episode did that for me.
We open with Gerry telling Ozzie about a clear pattern of abductions that all occur at a specific area and he wants to be the next in the line. This abduction will be permanent because no one ever returned when they were taken at this time. Gerry states that he has quit his job and Ozzie shows concern for this, but Gerry is determined to be a full-fledged Starcrossed member, even though it means never returning to Earth.
Gerry cleans himself up and does A LOT of grooming, including an abundance of nail clipping. Then, he packs a Go Bag and with his “Family Photo”- it’s a selfie-stick shot of him with the Starcrossed group. This shows a clear, visual example of familial/tribal love.
Gerry’s determined to tell Yvonne his feelings, but chickens out. This is the emotional and physical love.
Coffeehouse: Kelly visits LOTR-Guy at his coffeehouse. Kelly tries to apologize and LOTR-Guy shuts her down with an apology on behalf of all men because he was a nosy-pants and male privilege something. Kelly is now all over LOTR-Guy like a Today’s Man Suit.
Ozzie follows up on a lead about Senator Pelosi’s connection to Glint and how Jonathan suppressed stories at Glint. My favorite: This Privileged American Life – Ira Glass. If you’ve never heard This American Life, you should, BUT be prepared to become depressed. “However, this shouldn’t matter because happiness is a lie we tell ourselves so we can wake up everyday.” Just kidding, Ira never said this because he’s much more upbeat than I am.
Nancy overhears that Ozzie is getting close to uncovering the conspiracy. Jonathan is ordered to get a donut.. again. Jonathan tries to stall and arranges a lunch with Ozzie.
Gerry says goodbye to Richard and gives him all of his alien research.
The Lunch: Jonathan tries to bully Ozzie using the carrot and stick technique formerly used by Henry Kissinger. The Stick: Jonathan threatens to expose/discredit Ozzie for being a member of “Space Losers”. The Carrot: “Brews Skettah”. It fails. Jonathan shall eat his “Brews Skettah” all alone. Michael Cassidy has some real drama chops. He should consider some drama or Jason Bourne-ish action movie stuff. What was great about this scene is that when Jonathan is saying “After all that I’ve done for you” He means it literally because he helped raise and protect Ozzie since he was a child, explaining why Jonathan has empathy unlike his purely Reptilian counterpart Nancy. This hammers home the fatherly love that Jonathan has for Ozzie and this was shown in previous episodes wherein he gives Ozzie veggie drinks and mentoring.
Gerry goes to Yvonne’s house and he nearly chickens out, but Yvonne helps him along and they make sweet love. However, he still wants to try to get abducted and say goodbye for good.
The Date: LOTR-Guy is REALLY in touch with his feelings. They try to dance and it’s awesome. It reminded me so much of the dancing I saw at clubs in Europe … like seizures. Kelly shows a protective and physical love for LOTR-Guy by trying to get him to assert himself in many different ways. At one point, a waiter spills a drink on him and he goes beyond Canadian levels of politeness, saying that “I was sitting way too close to the spill.” She pushes him to insist on getting the drinks for free and owning it! Boom! It’s awesome.
The Donut: The Alien Overlord orders Jonathan to pick a weapon to use to kill Ozzie. Jonathan doesn’t want to and he remembers being on the Ship with Young Ozzie. He comforts Ozzie when he’s scared and promises him that he won’t hurt him. Michael really delivers this scene well. He knows how to play the silence without dragging it. Good beat. Jonathan chooses the gun and it’s hard to watch.
Jonathan goes to Ozzie’s hovel. I won’t lie – I gasped a little, when he reached in his coat pocket and was relieved when he pulled out a jumpdrive. Jonathan gives Ozzie the proof he needs confessing how he suppressed stories. This is an obvious act of fatherly love and has improved Ozzie’s life. Jonathan, like all good Dads, with his mission of pushing his son forward complete, takes a step back and sets him free to succeed or fail without him.
Yvonne and Gerry are in bed and she gives him a lift to the abduction location, even though this may be their last time together; it’s very sweet. H. Jon Benjamin provides some comic relief along the way.
Kelly forces LOTR-Guy to be empowered and self-confidant. There’s just love burgeoning everywhere in this episode.
Donut Part 2: The Overlord is furious and wants to kill Jonathan and Ozzie. Jonathan thwarts this by revealing that there is a code he needs to enter every 12 hours or their lizard plan will be published worldwide. Jonathan flashes to when he and Young Ozzie were on the ship and Ozzie made him a drawing of them holding hands like father and son. He puts on a brave front, but leaves the meeting with some fear and pain on his face because he has left his family to save his adoptive son Ozzie, but in doing so, he will be forever alone.
Gerry gets to the abduction site…..and they never come.
Once again, the near credits delivers an amazing song that presented what could’ve worked as the scenes for the series finale. Not a bad song, not Kmala my Friend or the Ship song from earlier episodes, but a solid – not bad.
We see Ozzie’s article with a big picture of Jonathan as a story suppressor, ruining him forever. Jonathan packs up his things from his office and says goodbye to his moving desk.
The group stares at Gerry’s empty chair and is relieved when he returns, completing their tribe. They console him for not getting abducted, but he states sheepishly and in love, “It wasn’t all bad.” *sniff*
LOTR-Guy returns to the ship all swagger. It’s pretty badass. Scroty shows him respect for the first time and informs him that the Main Ship is coming. We also learn that Gerry would’ve been abducted if LOTR-Guy had been at his post.
We open with Scroty at the computer again. He’s alone on the lived in and dingy spacecraft. He’s doing the work of three because Kurt is dead and LOTR-Guy is making coffee and trying to make time with Kelly.
Father Doug is taking confession and they are hilarious, including one man who confesses to masturbating twenty-two times. His response: You know that’s too much. This made it awesome because it established an acceptable range. However, he certainly is risking carpal tunnel. Father Doug reminisces about his time as a hip NYC musician.
The Spaceship- Scroty is struggling to replace a printer cartridge and the printer is hysterically outdated.
Gina is planning a take your significant other to your abduction support group day.
Ozzie, still struggling with his abductee status, opts to play hooky and heads to a bar. Father Doug is there getting slowly loaded after a long day of hearing people confess to self-abuse. The two of them begin to do shots and Father Doug is amazingly disappointed that people have a lack of interest in soccer. We have the Sounders here in Seattle and I have to write that I was truly amazed that we had a soccer team and that people went to see them … on purpose. I was even more stunned to discover that the tickets weren’t free. It’s not like they were handing the tickets out in a mall …gratis. These people knew ahead of time that the tickets would cost money….currency! I’m serious…people paid to see them….Americans…really….in my very city! Sad. Soccer is the Prius of sports.
Father Doug and Ozzie proceed to groove to “Word Up”! It’s kind of awesome.
The Significant Other get together is a disaster! Ernie’s son is like you’re gay and abducted by aliens?! Can’t you pick one?! Joy’s sister just starts laughing at her. Kelly and Chelsea fight about their affair with LOTR-Guy and his “Big Alien Dick”. Chelsea’s husband arrives and she has to leave. Bummer.
Father Doug admits to Ozzie that he’s in love with Chelsea. Ozzie wants to disclose to his mother that he is an abductee, but Father Doug tries to thwart Ozzie from telling his mom that he’s an abductee because it will forever define him.
During an active hangover, Ozzie gets a call from a friend who has information on Jonathan.
All of the Starcrossers go the bar together and bond.
Wait for it….Scroty gets a call from the Mothership.
Also, another great song is in the near credits:
Remember, as always, if you don’t watch People of Earth, all of the unicorns will die!
This episode is all about do it yourself IT. For MAC readers, IT means information technology and there are people who are highly paid to resolve problems with Windows because it sucks. Now, Windows charges you a subscription fee!!!! Fuckers!
LOTR-Guy is cataloging his experiences meeting with humans. Humans, being solipsistic pieces of shit, only want to have him participate in things that they like. However, one human was different: Kelly! She wanted to know what LOTR-Guy was into and this reminiscence causes LOTR-Guy to get all moony over her.
We learn that Ozzie has a chip implant, which if properly rebooted will wipe his pesky flashbacks. Scroty takes it upon himself to fix the chip and wipe Ozzie’s memory, but this being People of Earth, he’s aggressively incompetent. Scroty is short with LOTR-Guy saying that he should look for Kurt’s killer and so LOTR-Guy goes to earth. Meanwhile, Scroty continues to blunder through the computer that’s linked to Ozzie’s brain, causing terrible hallucinations for Ozzie.
At the church, Chelsea builds a deeper relationship with Father Doug. He suggests that she goes to a bible study class and she declares it a date. The bible study is for children and it’s an awesome disaster!
LOTR-Guy is walking around town and sees Kelly hanging in a coffee shop. He thinks, Kelly likes coffee, I like Kelly, I will work at that coffee shop, and I will be around Kelly. You just gotta love these dopey aliens.
At Starcrossed, Kelly laments that her boyfriend says – Oregon like OR A GONE. This is a real dealbreaker for Pacific Northwesterners. It’s Or uh gun. The other big NO NO for PNWs is to bitch about the rain. Rain is our jam! In fact, it’s the first thing you think of when you think of the PNW. Richard hilariously says, We don’t say – A LAB BUH MA. Ozzie’s hallucinations and brain functions worsen and he sees all of the group is dressed like him complete with beards!
Ozzie goes to the hospital and they xray his head and see a metal disc and they seek to remove it. All the while, Scroty is coming closer to wiping Ozzie’s memory. Just as he’s about to finish wiping, they remove the disc.
LOTR-Guy is spying on Kelly and she breaks up with Mr. OR A GONE. LOTR-GUY brings Kelly a sympathy coffee and she gives him the finger for eavesdropping and he innocently gives it back to her.
Father Doug patches things up with Chelsea, describing Mary as being brave and woman of faith for holding to her beliefs even though people were incredulous that she was a virgin mother.
Scroty turns to Jon because the chip is in human hands and it’s hilarious! Jon sends Reptile-Lady to retrieve the chip. A child ends up taking the chip and gets away.
Starcrossed- Ozzie is not entirely convinced that it was aliens who put a chip in his head, but oh well.
We see the child playing with the chip and he shines a light through it and we see a deer head!
This was another great episode. The only critique is that the closing song was just not great or even good.
So far, season 7 of The Walking Dead has been pretty inconsistent.
Often times, I have felt like a lone voice in the wilderness, vainly defending the season premiere and continuing to hope that, at some point, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan is going to become something more than a one-dimensional caricature.
Like a lot of people, I kind of enjoyed the second episode but, in retrospect, that was mostly because of the weirdness of King Ezekiel and the majesty of Shiva. The episode itself was extremely slow and featured one of those overly sentimental musical montages, the type of thing that never holds up particularly well on repeat viewing.
The Cell … oh, I tried to enjoy The Cell but basically, it was just an hour of Daryl not speaking and Negan doing his Negan thing.
And then there was last week’s episode, which appears to be going down in the history books as the consensus pick for the worst episode of The Walking Dead ever.
So, with all that in mind, I am going to cautiously state that I think that the latest installment, Go Getters, was a definite improvement over the last few episodes. It was hardly a classic. It certainly wasn’t The Walking Dead at its absolute best. But, at the very least, it held my attention for 60 minutes, it seemed to actually move the story forward (as opposed to just being a stagnant portrayal of doom and gloom), and it left me looking forward to seeing what would happen next week. Coming nearly halfway through an uneven season, Go Getters provided just a little bit of hope for the show’s future, telling us, “The Walking Dead‘s not dead and growling in Herschel’s barn just yet!”
Of course, it helped that Go Getters was centered on Maggie, the only one of the main characters who has not left me pissed off or disappointed this season. Following the deaths of Glenn and Abraham, Maggie and Sasha are hiding out at Hilltop Colony. Gregory wants to kick them out, Jesus wants to protect them. Eventually, the Saviors show up and we get to know Simon (Steven Ogg, investing the role with such menace that it’s hard not to wonder how different the season would be if he had been cast as Negan), who is one of Negan’s liuetenants. Simon collects his tribute, humiliates Gregory, and leaves. Meanwhile, Carl and Enid show up at Hilltop, having run away from Alexandria. One-eyed Carl has decided to take revenge on Negan and who can blame him? At this point, he has to know that his red-eyed, sniveling, neutered father isn’t going to do anything…
(Which brings up an interesting issue: we’re supposed to look down on Gregory for being so weak and subservient to the Saviors but really, he didn’t do anything different from what Rick did last week. We’re supposed to give Rick a pass but not Gregory, which doesn’t seem quite right. Gregory may be an ass but, as we should all know by now, nice guys don’t survive the apocalypse.)
So far, each episode this season has featured a different community being harassed by Negan. I’m assuming that these communities are eventually going to come together to take out the Saviors. If that’s the case, I can understand and even respect the deliberate build-up. At the same time, this season is moving so slowly (and has been so repetitive) that it’s hard not to get frustrated when you’re watching on a weekly schedule. One gets the feeling that Season 7 will be better when binge-watched but, for now, I find myself wishing the show would pick up the pace.
But, with all that in mind, I liked Go Getters. I love the fact that Maggie refuses to surrender. Despite all of the terrible things that have happened to her and the people that she loved, Maggie has not given up. She hasn’t turned into a weak shell, like Rick or Daryl. Nor has she retreated to a world of fantasy, like Carol. Instead, Maggie lives, Maggie fights, and Maggie endures. Glenn may be dead but Maggie the Cat is alive.
You must believe the hype! You have to watch People of Earth or ALL of Santa’s Reindeer will become a delicious sausage! You were warned! There’s even a awesomeballs 8-Bit Video Game!
We learn about Gina in this episode and it is awesome! This episode is especially well-crafted by Emily Heller.
Gina is being examined by Scroty and LOTR-Guy with “Do it to me one more time” in the BG. Scroty leans in and says, “You are special.” Gina responds- BULLSHIT!!!
We smash cut to Crate & Barrelish, where Gina is zoned out in her flashback because her abduction theme song is playing, which triggered her flashback. I have flashbacks from the Army every now and again and Emily Heller is not that far off. Anything can trigger them.
Ozzie is trying yoga to relax, but it fails. He pays rent and goes to work and has an ancient computer. He has an equally ancient co-worker who asks him if he misses his old job, which triggers a flashback. This is an especially cool flashback because it show Jon’s fatherly love for Ozzie as he tries to literally make him eat his vegetables in blended form. AWWWW.
Jonathan is ordered to have a donut, which is Alien for calling him out onto the carpet for a reaming by a supervisor Reptilian. What is truly awesome about the supervisor’s office is that it, like the Alien’s mission, is ramshackle! The aliens, like us, are mediocre. Supervisor insists that if he doesn’t put a stop to Ozzie’s abduction exploration; they will “handle” it. All the alien’s speak in corporate-ease.
Ennis shows up at Crate and Barrelish for Gina’s help, triggering another flashback.
The Past: Gina was hot shot Upper West Side psychotherapist. Gina specializes into getting people to face their fear. Brian, a patient, is scared of heights and is a Fear of Commitment (FOC). Gina demands that he skydive with his girlfriend to save his relationship. She convinces Brian to jump. SMASH CUT: Brian’s funeral. This sends Gina into a spiraling downward booze-filled depression.
Jonathan goes to Ozzie’s workplace. He walks with him and explains that he will buy the local paper. They run into Richard and Gerry. Gerry misjudges Jonathan as a human. Jonathan knows all about Richard’s business, which is a great callback to the earlier comment to the Pilot where Richard says that his bosses were reptilians! I told you that you needed to take adderall to catch all the jokes and references! YOU WERE WARNED!
Flashback: Gina’s depression continues. She shuts down her practice and moves to Beacon. Then, she gets abducted and has such low-self esteem that her reaction to being told that she is special is to respond with… BULLSHIT! Survivor’s remorse….IT IS A BITCH!
Gina’s abduction experience snaps her depression and gets her into helping others who have suffered the same fate by starting Starcrossed.
Jonathan buys the paper and upgrades it, thinking that his presence will drive Ozzie out of town. It doesn’t. Instead of driving Ozzie away, it triggers another memory of Jonathan putting on his human face. So, Jonathan is Ozzie’s …Dad, maybe?
Ozzie returns to Starcrossed and engages with the group as part of their tribe. *sniff*
Ozzie decides to investigate Jonathan to prove that Aliens are among us and, in some cases, employ us.
Almost forgot, the credits have another amazing song!!!
Once again, gentle-readers, if you like my reviews, tell my boss Lisa Marie Bowman! This show delivers every week. It is the funniest and most immersive show on television. Period. No Shit, Legit!
Through the Shattered Lens 