tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post7298196808894762848..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Jack, you're a grown man. You have control over your own words.Alan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58444641261226195062009-02-01T20:27:00.000-05:002009-02-01T20:27:00.000-05:00(hence my having to tag the most popular shows by ...<I>(hence my having to tag the most popular shows by season)</I><BR/><BR/>and let me just say thanks again for that.<BR/><BR/>I'm headed for season 3 of HIMYM any day now. (and someday, Grey's, Chuck, and I've already done this with season 4 of House and possibly season 1 of Mad Men - I can't remember. i can't imagine i took that much time - considering the number of comments, but i think i did)Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-80122825158587466172009-01-28T11:36:00.000-05:002009-01-28T11:36:00.000-05:00@ Brendan: No.@ Brendan: No.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62644744563320952062009-01-27T23:38:00.000-05:002009-01-27T23:38:00.000-05:00Re: Lance Reddick. Was he not in the premiere of l...Re: Lance Reddick. <BR/><BR/>Was he not in the premiere of lost? Wasn't that him as a "detective" at Hurley's house?Brendan McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10317367827041245461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24860633985504396242009-01-27T18:17:00.000-05:002009-01-27T18:17:00.000-05:00My question in the free for all is - when is Danci...My question in the free for all is - when is Dancing with the Stars usually on (months)? and when do they announce who the stars will be?<BR/><BR/>I ask because Donny Osmond (oh, stop laughing) said he's "seriously considering it" and I would have thought by now it would have been a yes or no.<BR/><BR/>I really don't watch DWTS but would for Donny, Scott or, I'll admit, Josh Groban (he's cute, even if he's what? 27?)Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18646893638039070572009-01-27T16:49:00.000-05:002009-01-27T16:49:00.000-05:00ALL TV: Christmas in the West WingALAN SEPINWALL...ALL TV: Christmas in the West Wing<BR/>ALAN SEPINWALL<BR/>Star-Ledger Staff<BR/>December 15, 1999<BR/><BR/>WEST WING " creator Aaron Sorkin is the best kind of puppet master. He lets you see your heartstrings as he tugs at them, but it still works. He's Capra-esque in his shamelessness; "The West Wing " can be just as corny and transparent as "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," and just as entertaining.<BR/><BR/>Tonight's Christmas episode (9 p.m., Channel 4) doesn't fail to pull out all the stops, including a passel of smiling elementary schoolers, a slow-witted homeless man, a horrifying story about a gay-bashed teenager and a tear-jerking story about twin brothers who died in Vietnam, all culminating in a military funeral set to a choral version of "The Little Drummer Boy."<BR/><BR/>On a weekly basis, "The West Wing" takes cheap ideas like those and elevates them to something special, thanks to a perfectly drawn cast of characters and some very specific writing.<BR/><BR/>Martin Sheen has rightly gotten acclaim as the president, whom he often plays as a scholarly uncle who finally has the power to make everyone listen to his lectures on national parks and Greek mythology. (The success of the show, which casually references deep thinkers like scientific author Stephen Jay Gould, gives new hope to the idea of erudition in prime time.) But this is truly an ensemble, and one of the best in recent memory.<BR/><BR/>Richard Schiff gives the clich of the idealistic speechwriter new life by playing him with the sad eyes of a man whose ideals have been betrayed yet who keeps on fighting for them. Rob Lowe and Bradley Whitford give morally questionable layers to their handsome heroes, and the divine Allison Janney has been a revelation as the press secretary who has defined herself through her work and can't figure out whether she should date nice-guy reporter Timothy Busfield.<BR/><BR/>The only cast member who doesn't seem to be fitting in is Moira Kelly as a political consultant; either she or the producers need to decide whether her character's supposed to be a pragmatist or simply self-involved.<BR/><BR/>Sorkin doesn't shy away from issues, and while the show has a decided liberal bent - it's about a Democratic administration, after all - he always gives weight to the other side of the spectrum. When one character tonight insists the administration needs to pass legislation against hate crimes, another convincingly argues that if we start policing people based on thoughts, we open up a very uncomfortable legal can of worms.<BR/><BR/>There have been more thoughtful dramas in recent memory, as well as more emotionally satisfying ones, but few have combined the two as brilliantly as "The West Wing." It's easily the best new show of the season, and until "The Sopranos" returns next month, it may be the best show on television. - A.S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15588043330692874232009-01-27T12:48:00.000-05:002009-01-27T12:48:00.000-05:00In the interest of full disclosure, I was out of t...In the interest of full disclosure, I was out of the room doing an interview when they showed the "Southland" clip reel, so I have no impression of it. <BR/><BR/>And that wraps up this round of Q&A. We'll try this again either next week, or maybe in two weeks to let the questions build up again.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-7391675588564030312009-01-27T12:44:00.000-05:002009-01-27T12:44:00.000-05:00From what little you saw of Southland, what is you...From what little you saw of Southland, what is your impression? Is there a positive "buzz" for it, or just wishful thinking on the part of NBC?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-48009160540948512042009-01-27T11:06:00.000-05:002009-01-27T11:06:00.000-05:00Frisky Dingo was also pretty great, especially the...<I>Frisky Dingo was also pretty great, especially the second season, when Killface runs for President. Sadly it's gone forever now.</I><BR/><BR/>Aw, crud!<BR/><BR/>Alan, hate to tell you, but the Disney princess phase of childhood lasts for <I>years</I>. Many years. Way longer than the Barney phase, even. Hope you enjoy it :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76379796089637966822009-01-27T10:50:00.000-05:002009-01-27T10:50:00.000-05:00Okay, we're almost at the 24 hour mark, so I'll ta...Okay, we're almost at the 24 hour mark, so I'll take a couple more before shutting it down for another week or two.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71932485026154171842009-01-27T10:30:00.000-05:002009-01-27T10:30:00.000-05:00Kaiser, never read GRRM, so no opinion. Friends of...Kaiser, never read GRRM, so no opinion. Friends of mine are big fans, though. I read very little pure sci-fi and/or fantasy books.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-83717097174154181972009-01-27T10:25:00.000-05:002009-01-27T10:25:00.000-05:00Alan, do you have any updates on the George R.R. M...Alan, do you have any updates on the George R.R. Martin book series, <I>A Song of Ice and Fire</I> being converted to seasonal shows on HBO? Last I heard we were supposed to see something in 2009. Wondering if it's still in the works. I read the first book, <I> A Game of Thrones</I> and it felt like the the Sopranos in Middle Earth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85944389933962853152009-01-27T09:49:00.000-05:002009-01-27T09:49:00.000-05:00So Pettitte is back and the rotation is finally co...<I>So Pettitte is back and the rotation is finally complete. With all the players the Yankees have brought in how do you see them doing this season?</I><BR/><BR/>Beats the hell out of me. Can Posada still catch? If not, do we have anyone better than Jose Molina to throw out there every day? Who's the center fielder? Can Cano rebound, or have pitchers figured him out? <BR/><BR/>Lotta question marks, even with the huge payroll. But the Tex signing made me very happy.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-81869716903661838332009-01-27T09:48:00.000-05:002009-01-27T09:48:00.000-05:00Why do you think Kings was moved to Sunday and Sou...<I>Why do you think Kings was moved to Sunday and Southland put in the Thursday 10 PM slot?<BR/>Was there a Southland preview during the TCA?</I><BR/><BR/>They did a session for it and showed clips, but I haven't seen anything like a full pilot. <BR/><BR/>As for the Kings/Southland switch, it had something to do with a complicated deal with John Wells, who produces Southland and who agreed to (or asked for) three more episodes of ER. <BR/><BR/>Again, it's best not to try to understand the logic of most NBC moves these days. I'm sure it makes sense to someone internally, but there aren't enough clues for us in the real world to play along.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62302727718937360262009-01-27T09:44:00.000-05:002009-01-27T09:44:00.000-05:00Hey Alan, One of the shows I wish you could have b...Hey Alan, <BR/>One of the shows I wish you could have blogged about "back in the day" is Twin Peaks....I know you have your summer series set for this year, but was wondering if you were a Peaks fan and what you thought about all the symbolism in there? It was a hard one to figure out most times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-3405450182198789882009-01-27T08:20:00.000-05:002009-01-27T08:20:00.000-05:00So Pettitte is back and the rotation is finally co...So Pettitte is back and the rotation is finally complete. With all the players the Yankees have brought in how do you see them doing this season?Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17170585770176401938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34490382680213859092009-01-27T08:05:00.000-05:002009-01-27T08:05:00.000-05:00Why do you think Kings was moved to Sunday and Sou...Why do you think Kings was moved to Sunday and Southland put in the Thursday 10 PM slot? <BR/>Was there a Southland preview during the TCA?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52510895911142802672009-01-27T07:51:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:51:00.000-05:00From Jan:Thanks for the info Alan. I'll look forwa...From Jan:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the info Alan. I'll look forward to the posting on the new "Skins."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-25771505598022948412009-01-27T07:45:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:45:00.000-05:00Oh, and I interviewed the "Skins" co-creator, Jami...Oh, and I interviewed the "Skins" co-creator, Jamie Brittain, when I was at press tour, and will have a write-up of that close to when the new series debuts.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-82771460947198114232009-01-27T07:44:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:44:00.000-05:00I often wondered because the summary listed on my ...<I>I often wondered because the summary listed on my TV didn’t seem to fit what I saw in the episodes themselves. Did you find that to be the case?</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, there was a lot of confusion among the listings services between various episodes with the same title. So the description for the first "Jal" would instead deal with events from the second "Jal," that sort of thing.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58640570827198868472009-01-27T07:41:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:41:00.000-05:00From Jan:Alan, as a “Brotherhood” fan, I’d be inte...From Jan:<BR/><BR/>Alan, as a “Brotherhood” fan, I’d be interested to know when you find out anything about the show. The last show of this season was brilliant.<BR/><BR/>And I’m hoping a “Middleman” DVD set comes out soon. I missed one of the episodes, and it was never repeated again. That was such a fun show.<BR/><BR/>I wish you had posted more about “Skins” along the way. I, too, had some episodes I hadn’t seen on my DVR, but the way BBC America listed the content, I thought I had seen some that I hadn’t. So I missed two crucial episodes. Now I’ve got it on series recording, and I’m hoping to pick them up at some point, but it would have been better to see them in order. I often wondered because the summary listed on my TV didn’t seem to fit what I saw in the episodes themselves. Did you find that to be the case? Anyway, at least the DVD of Season 1 is out, and Season 2 comes out in April (already pre-ordered).<BR/><BR/>Re the Oscar nominations: I hope “Slumdog Millionaire” wins it. I just love that movie. And seeing Dev Patel from “Skins” in a completely different type of role was great. I haven’t seen all of the contenders, so I can’t speak for some of them, but while I thought Heath Ledger’s performance in “Dark Knight” was great, I found Batman’s growly, weird voice very off-putting. I wouldn’t consider the movie as a whole a best picture contender.<BR/><BR/>As far as the SAG awards went, I really didn’t think Hugh Laurie should have won this year. I’ve sort of given up on the show. He’s a good actor, but the story lines are pretty much always the same—and I don’t care for Chase and Cameron OR the newbies. I thought Jon Hamm would have been a better choice or Michael C. Hall. Unfortunately, my DVR is not working properly, so somehow I managed to miss an entire hour of the awards.<BR/><BR/>Guess I don’t really have a question right this minute (I wish I could think of the ones I’ve thought of in the past!), but I did have some thoughts about old posts—“Brotherhood,” “Middleman,” and “Skins,” so I’m glad you’re doing these open posts from time to time. I never miss your postings, and the people who write comments seem unusually thoughtful and intelligent, so your blog is a pleasure to read. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24883728608430012132009-01-27T07:14:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:14:00.000-05:00No love for Ex Machina? I think it's not quite as ...<I>No love for Ex Machina? I think it's not quite as good as Y the Last Man -- like Lost the mystery drags its feet, and there's too much traditional comic book silliness in the middle section -- but overall I'd say it's still a decent series, particularly when they focus on the political aspects.</I><BR/><BR/>I followed it for a while, but it's one of several that I realized I didn't miss when I didn't immediately get around to buying the latest collection. Given both the economy and my free time (or lack thereof), a title's gotta be really special in some way for me to stick with it.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-38897312375704440622009-01-27T07:12:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:12:00.000-05:00This summer, your series to recap should be Arrest...<I>This summer, your series to recap should be Arrested Development. When I get bored and blow through the series in a week, it would be nice to read your episode by episode thoughts as I do.</I><BR/><BR/>Arrested, much as I love it, doesn't lend itself that well to the summer rewind format. They'd all wind up like some of my thinner "30 Rock" reviews, where I just list stuff that was funny. <BR/><BR/>Plus, I still owe people those "Sports Night" reviews I've been promising forever, and I need to do season two of "The Wire," and those two should more than keep me occupied.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-31507897173524414262009-01-27T07:11:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:11:00.000-05:00it's a fairy tale definitely unsitable for childre...<I>it's a fairy tale definitely unsitable for children.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, my daughter's going through the inevitable Disney princess phase right now, and I keep having to move my Fables collection to a higher shelf, because God help me if she comes across some of this stuff.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-77898318057796901972009-01-27T07:09:00.000-05:002009-01-27T07:09:00.000-05:00One thing I've always wondered, with shows that yo...<I><BR/>One thing I've always wondered, with shows that you watch well in advance, is why you don't write your blog posts as you watch them, and then just save them until they air. Although I can understand you not doing that (I imagine it's a huge amount of effort just keeping up with shows as they air without trying to bank posts for weeks later), it might be a solution to the problem about not revealing too much in your posts.</I><BR/><BR/>You've answered your own question. It's simply not practical, especially since I try to watch as much as is available of shows in order to inform my initial column, and I often have a limited window in which to do that. If I stopped to write blog entries after every episode (or even after every five), I'd never get anything else done, nor would I get through them all in time to give it a proper write-up in the paper.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-68314382326399583652009-01-27T07:07:00.001-05:002009-01-27T07:07:00.001-05:00wats ur fav season of the sopranos?1, then 7 (or 6...<I>wats ur fav season of the sopranos?</I><BR/><BR/>1, then 7 (or 6b, if you prefer), then 5, then 6 (or 6a).Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.com