Tres Leches

Three to recommend from me to thee:

THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK has been one of the most highly anticipated prequels of the last several years and this SOPRANOS origin doesn't disappoint, at least in the long run. Sure it's flawed up the gabagool, here is no way in hell this project was ever going to satisfy everyone. David Chase's iconic mob series had such a high standard that any follow up, be it sequel or otherwise, would be torn to shreds. I do think that Chase forgot he was writing a one shot movie, trying to cram too much in without room to breathe. Still, by the end credits, it felt like a totally satisfying meal and made me want to re-visit the original series which I have. Maybe that was Chase's intention all along since there may be more to come which is fine by me. However, I still want to talk to him about the series finale.

See blog post WHADDAYA GONNA DO?

Mike Flanagan's MIDNIGHT MASS on Netflix is anothe rone of his patented slow burn stories like THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE/BLY MANOR, but, like those, it pays off like a Gothic slot machine. Sure, it has too much speechifyin'. Writer/director Flanagan tends to go all Oprah for his cast "You get an overlong monologue! And you get a monologue!" As above, it all comes together by the end and Flanagan delivers yet another nice piece of horror. And big kudos belong to the breakout star of this excellent cast-Mr. Hamish Linklater. Bravo, sir. Same to you, Mr. Flanagan. In a few short years, you're already in the Horror Hall of Fame. If there's an award, please keep your acceptance speech to a minimum.

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT on FX is nowhere near as sharp as the OJ Simpson recreation. In fact, it's almost Mad magazine cartoony. The execution, especially in the writing, is pretty trite and obvious. Some of the performers, who are probably wearing their ideology on the sleeves, would do better without the SNL like caricatures. But, Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp is flat-out brilliant. Her portrayal is almost vampire-like, preying on Monica Lewinsky like her last meal and damn near salivating in the process. There has been this good of a performance under that much prosthetic makeup since John Hurt as THE ELEPHANT MAN. She's the main reason I keep coming back for more. Sarah Paulson is the heir apparent to the Meryl Streep throne.

Damn. No wonder I'm behind on this blog. I watch too much frickin' TV.

Sad Men

And thus, Mathhew Weiner's MAD MEN ends not with a bang, but with an "Ommmmmm..."

The finale of AMC;s first successful foray into series television had the feel of a greatest hits album with additional previously unreleased tracks. High notes abounded, giving closure to some characters, new roads to travel for others and for Dick Whitman AKA Don Draper, a round trip ticket. Some elements seemed too pat, like a fairy tale ending for Peggy Olsen, but those who are familiar with the Weinerverse now full well that pitfalls are right around the corner. But that final coda put it all in perspective with a wink and a jab to the ribs to make it all worthwhile.

HBO GO 'Way

Back in the late 80s, comedian Doug Ferrari had a great riff about cable TV.
"You know HBO stands for? 'Hey! BEASTMASTER's on!'"
And we've come full circle, which is why I have broken up with Home Box Office after several years.
It's been a good run. They blazed a trail for what I consider the Platinum Age of Television with THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE, DEADWOOD, et al. Their documentary series has been stellar as well as their original films, recent examples being TEMPLE GRANDIN and BEHIND THE CANDELABRA. Much of the rest of their programming has touched the stars also. The book DIFFICULT MEN by Brett Martin delves into how this network took command early and how it has lost its footing.

The sad truth is that the well is running dry and this sort of pay service is going the way of the dinosaur. Recent shows have been blah at best, though HBO can still trot out a classic like GAMES OF THRONES or BOARDWALK EMPIRE every now and then, but there are other platforms out there to find the shows you want to see. This is true in the case of the critically lauded TRUE DETECTIVE. As far as GIRLS, a show I admired in its first season, well...that appears to have been a momentary fling. Season Two gave me the hives. And if I have to see Lena Dunham's bare arms one more freaking time, I'm going take a permanent Sharpie to that goddamn Alice in Wonderland tattoo of hers. Get some sleeves, sister.
But their movie choices they've made available are laughable at best. They seem to have purchased Blockbuster's back catalog before that pterodactyl croaked in the tar pit. The greatest hits of the 80s and 90s? Hardly. Never mind BEASTMASTER. How about BEETHOVEN, that irascible St Bernard laugh riot? Oh, what a lovable lug!
Their platforming is archaic and desperately need of a revamp. One channel blurs into another with no distinction except Latino and Children's. It's laziness. It's just filling air time like every other cable channel except it costs extra. And adding an app offering the same crap ain't exactly moving forward, only sideways.
So as HBO goes the way of the dodo, as do I in the opposite direction, slowly evolving as I attempt to wean myself off the cable teat.

 We wish HBO well in its future endeavors.
  

Breaking Bad to the Bone

And so it ends.

BREAKING BAD, Vince Gilligan’s sublime Scarface meets Goodbye, Mr. Chips saga on AMC, ended its run with a highly satisfying grand finale that has already infuriated self-important critics who always know better which direction to steer the ship and is currently being dissected, scrutinized and rehashed by anyone with an opinion and a keyboard from here to Andromeda and beyond. 

What else is new? In this era of the mega-hype nothing can possibly live up to the ridiculously outrageous expectations set for a show whose supporters and fans were as rabid as pit bulls on blue meth. Since this show had the honor to be a critical and ratings success, not mention ending way before it wore out its welcome, the pressure was on to deliver THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.  But whatever Gilligan came up with would never be enough, not even the shopworn dream ploy when Walt wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette.  

In days past, series finales have always been a mixed bag, usually delivering high ratings numbers with dubious results. Mostly they’re bloated, overlong affairs concocted to deliver maximum ratings numbers and quality be damned. The concluding episodes of THE FUGITIVE and M*A*S*H* set the standards back in the sixties and seventies, garnering huge numbers with shows that at least matched up to the rest of their respective runs. But when SEINFELD, CHEERS and FRIENDS said goodbye, it was almost as if they couldn’t wait to into their cars and drive home. THE SOPRANOS, a definite precursor to BREAKING BAD, wrapped up feebly and is only memorable for its ambiguous closing shot that has polarized fans to this very day.

But BAD’S last season, almost rushing to a conclusion, took a methodic approach for this episode entitled "Felina" under writer/director Gilligan, almost like Bryan Cranston's swan song performance as Walter White. This chemistry teacher turner druglord attempted to right the wrongs in his life in one step at a time, trying to find the soul he lost along the way. It coincided with Gilligan's approach to this last hour. This was no more evident than in what I consider to be the highlight, Walt and his wife Skyler quietly powerful confrontation, a scene that was in turns tense, brutal, tragic and touching in its short five minutes. Cranston and Anna Gunn, so deserving of her Emmy win, set a high standard for acting that should be studied for years to come. Aaron Paul’s Jesse finally graduated from Mr. White’s class with honors, ending their twisted father/son relationship once and for all. The episode contained those brilliant fine touched that help propel this show in to legendary status like the Marty Robbins tune, Lydia’s ringtone and those damn laser pointers. As for Walter White, did he redeem himself? Not one iota. There’s no way he could. The only thing he could do was go out with a bang and a whimper, laying on the floor of a meth lab, staring at the Heaven he will never see as he forever resides in the Hell of his own making.

For both Walter White and Vince Gilligan, the last stand of BREAKING BAD can all be summed up in what the Man Who Would Be Hiesenberg finally admitted:

"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. I was really… I was alive."

If it wasn't the best ending, it was the right ending for Vince Gilligan, for Walter White and for those of us who have taken the journey with them and accept this is indeed Felina.

BREAKING BAD.

Remember its name.

Let's Get Bloggin'!

What a summer so far. Gay marriage, the Zimmerman debacle, Amanda Bynes (an unfortunate mash-up of Britney Spears and Lohan who should go back to her former self, the girl known as "Who?") but hey, no mass shootings this year thus far for which we can all knock on wood, even it's on your rifle stock.
Lindsay

Then there's the Royal Baby. Leave it to the Brits to bring us all together again, whether it's to collectively exclaim ""Awwwwww..." or to shout "Enough with these over-privileged fucks already!" I fall into the former category. I actually like the idea of a monarchy in the old empire. It's rather quaint. So they named the kid George (though I prefer the nickname Digit the Finger Prince) so that England will have another King George someday. This worked out well once...

...and not so hot another time. 

We lost a couple of tough guys recently. Seeing Dennis Farina's name in the credits guaranteed that I would enjoy whatever I was about to watch. The man was an absolute natural and always delivered the goods. Recently, he and Dustin Hoffman made an excellent pair on HBO's ill-fated LUCK. My favorite had to be his portrayal of Ray "Bones" Barboni in GET SHORTY, especially delivering the immortal phrase that pays, "Fuck you, fuckball!"

As for Farina's ponytail wearing co-star in that film, James Gandofini, well whadda ya gonna do? I still watch THE SOPRANOS, not being able to pass by as I'm channel surfing and, to use a phrase from another gang story, he always pulls me back in. I'm just drawn to this giant that walked among us and am so grateful that he did. Check out one of his best post-SOPRANOS performances in Andrew Dominik's KILLING THEM SOFTLY with Brad Pitt.

The Emmys always disappoint, whether in the nominations, the awards or in the craptacle known as the show itself. How can an industry celebrating itself produce such bad television? The nominees are chock full of omissions almost too painful to list (but damn, no love for RECTIFY or Tatiana Maslany of ORPHAN BLACK?). However I have to applaud the recognition of Jonathan Banks (BREAKING BAD), Bobby Cannavale (so goddamn evil on BOARDWALK EMPIRE) and my girl Mrgo Martindale (THE AMERICANS) Then there are two sentimental favorites nominated as well: Bob Newhart on this year's finale of THE BIG BANG THEORY who has NEVER won an Emmy and my boyhood dreamboat Diana Rigg (GAME OF THRONES).Well done, Mrs. Peel. I'd still do ya. 

Finally a big shout-out to my good friend and fellow author Thomas Amo (AN APPLE FOR ZOE and FOREVER ME) who debuted his online radio show 92.6 The Blitz, playing classic rock and featuring the independent arts including authors, filmmakers, musicians and more more more in the words of The Andrea True Connection. Listen Monday-Friday 9-11 PST right HERE.

So that's it on this end, boys and girls. Have yourselves a swell rest of the summer and stay tuned for some big news real soon. Yes, bigger that the birth of a mad, stuttering British baby. 

Whaddaya Gonna Do?

For better or for worse, The Sopranos is over. Strike that. Thanks to the arrogance of David Chase, it's for worse.

Chase, the show's creator and the writer/director of the final episode, seemed to have painted himself into a corner and chose not only an ambiguous finale, but to also tread water for the entire hour. Could be he was in denial for the demise of his show or perhaps he really didn't want it end. Whatever the answer, Chase could not have come up with such a lackluster episode if he tried, which seemed that he didn't try at all. The storylines that had been painstakingly mapped out for years-mainly the New York/New Jersey war-was dismissed in one scene. Chase threw in Phil Leotardo's hit as almost a scrap from his dinner table. The AJ scenes drew out almost incessantly to the point that they were almost excruciating. There just wasn't anything compelling or even particularly significant about this episode. It all seemed like a throw-away.

As for the grand finale at the diner, I've stepped back on my original assessment and actually have to admire the way Chase set this up and how it paid off (or didn't, as the case may be). The blackout at the moment the bell on the diner door rang caused an entire nation to go "WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

Everyone thought their cable had gone out, including me.

Is it just me or are you too finding it difficult to get the song that Tony plays on the jukebox, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" out of your head? (He could have chosen "I Gotta Be Me" which was another selection.)

So what do I think happened when Tony looked up? Nothing. Thanks, Chase. Turns out you were Jerry Seinfeld all along.

As a writer, I realize that the most difficult thing in the world is to come up with an ending. Is that what Chase was trying to tell us with Meadow's lack of parallel parking ability? Maybe every scenario Chase had come up with to end this thing that none of them fit, just like Meadow in that parking space.

As for the cynical view that this was all just a ruse to get a Sopranos movie, well, I wouldn't be surprised nor as disappointed as I was Sunday night. Still, it's rather telling that HBO didn't over-promote this finale or even include a retrospective preceding the episode.

Not to be a Sopranos apologist like so many critics (mainly The Oregonian's Peter Carlin), maybe this will look better in retrospect. Time has already taken away part of the sting from the initial shock and perhaps another viewing will prove that it actually wasn't as awful as it appeared the first time.

In the last scene in the diner, AJ reminded Tony to "focus on the good times". Okay, I'll focus on the good times instead of the popcorn fart the last show turned out to be. Disregarding that as a huge fan of the show, I will always say that The Sopranos was one of the best television dramas ever produced and I look forward to reliving that experience again in the future.

I still wish David Chase wasn't such an arrogant prick about it all.

But as Tony Soprano himself would say, "Whaddya gonna do?"

TV...Good!

Rumors about our dear President Bungle’s love life have flying fast and furiously lately.
One of them involves his alleged affair with the Secretary of State.
Hmmm…seems GW has a favorite side dish.
Condoleeza Rice.
Ba-dump-bump!

The end of the “traditional” TV season brought forth some pleasures great and small, but I can’t think of a better image than the EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS finale. That included the image of Terry Crewes, playing Chris’ father Julius, singing his own rendition of I WILL SURVIVE. Sure, this is an over-used gag, going back even further than Lil’ Tommy Cruise’s underpants dance in RISKY BUSINESS. Somehow, the twist that it was that big lug Julius, home alone on Father’s Day, dueting with Gloria Gaynor with a hairbrush microphone while standing on his dining room table stage, hit all the right notes and made it unforgettable. You go, Jules!

My beloved SOPRANOS kind of petered out at the end of this season, though I heard a great analogy from cast member Frank Vincent (Phil Leotardo). “THE SOPRANOS is so good, it’s in competition with itself.” If some say this season wasn’t as good as others, it’s still better than anything out there. Oh so true. And R.I.P. Vito. We have hardly knew ye. Oh wait a minute. Yeah we did. Ew.

BIG LOVE’s season ender was much more satisfying, though it had to try harder in the position it was in. Any show that can get an audience to care about the creepy lifestyle known as polygamy is aces in my book. I can’t wait for next season. If you can find it, there is a fantastic article about Harry Dean Stanton in the June 2 issue of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. He truly is Da Man.

HOUSE ended on another high note with another season finale that is better than any episode it has aired the entire year, just as it has before. It seems that the producers prefer the non-traditional (read: "edgy") storylines to finish out the year while trotting out the medical MATLOCKs the rest of the time to appease the AMERICAN IDOL worshippers. Still in all, excellent episode.

As for the summer, RESCUE ME on FX has returned with a vengeance and HBO’s DEADWOOD, in its possible last season. I also look forward to LUCKY LOUIE, possibly a very funny show, and to a much lesser extent, ENTOURAGE. I find those little bastards annoying.

Oh, and on network TV there’s….uh….well, nothing. What else is new?