Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: "Perry Mason: Official Teaser | HBO" on YouTube

[davesik...@gmail.com]

 Well, to be fair, Mason wasn't trying to have a relationship with the TV 
series. I don't know why we needed an origin story for him, but I'd imagine 
that the name recognition with the current audience is minimal at best, so why 
not reboot everything? (Even that ignores the question of, if the IP is that 
poorly known, why do it in the first place?)
I'd imagine that, if we see a second season, it'll adhere more closely to 
Gardner's formula, with some of the twists introduced in this version. The 
client introduced at the end is something of an indication of that.

As I've said, I hated it until -that- death, then thought it took off like a 
rocket.
As for WW, anyone who's seen my posts on FB is aware of how useless and 
needless I thought it was. If, indeed, it's a set-up for the mid-credits scene, 
it's typical of Warners/DC to take the better part of 150 minutes to arrive at 
such a feeble payoff. Even given my contempt for you-know-who as the Cheetah, 
while she didn't even try to devise a character outside the lines of her SNL 
skits, I don't think Barbara Stanwyck could have done anything with that 
script. Not having watched GoT, I had no idea who Pascal was, and consider 
myself lucky, if that's an indication of his dubious talents. (Of course, other 
than Rigg and Dinklage, I've yet to see anyone who was on that show who's been 
even competent in anything else.) I guess I did see him in The Mandalorian, but 
it's probably for the best he was masked in that one.

The one good thing I can say for WW is that it was better than First Cow, but 
that's a microscopically-low bar.
--Dave Sikula

On Tuesday, December 29, 2020, 9:11:42 PM PST, Kevin M. 
 wrote:  
 
 I only last week learned we have been paying for the HBO app, so this week I 
watched WW84* and started their Perry Mason. It’s a decent enough story so far, 
but there is zero relationship between it and the Perry Mason TV series of old. 
Also, every ethnic and cultural stereotype seems to be used to such an extent 
I’m surprised some progressive media watchdog didn’t lodge a complaint. 
*the entire WW84 movie was a long setup for the scene that plays midway through 
the closing credits 
On Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 9:05 PM PGage  wrote:

I have just caught up on Mason over the last 5 days. There is a lot I like 
about it (unlike Dave I really like Rhys, and don’t care about keeping American 
actors employed). There is the obvious problem - that there is no reason to 
call this Perry Mason. Okay, it’s an origin story, but I would have found it 
more convincing if he had been bitten by a radioactive lawyer and transformed 
into an attorney. 
My main disappointment is that, unlike most golden age TV drama, the dialogue 
is particularly undistinguished. This is not The one of Chase, or Milch, or 
Simon, or Sorkin, or Weiner, or Gilligan, or Yost. This is particularly 
disappointing because there may be no genre better suited to snappy, memorable 
dialogue than noir, so what gives?
I suppose if this series runs ten seasons like the Burr version, and for the 
last 9 Perry is a stalwart member of the SoCal legal community, sober and 
serious but taking the side of the wrongly accused in between cashing fat 
checks from corporate clients, we will be closer to a reimagined Perry Mason 
than the mostly unrecognizable confection we have been given so far, and I 
guess the time period is consistent with the early novels. But even if, I am 
not yet persuaded that the origin story part of this is worth it, or adds that 
much to the character. He used to be cynical, slovenly, corner cutting and 
suffering from WWI PTSD, now he is caring, meticulous, successful and straight. 
I think they could have communicated that in half of one episode, not an entire 
season.
Or, put it this way: either the backstory is important to the HBO Mason, and 
then it has little in common with the original TV or novel Mason, or it winds 
up not being important, and then it is not necessary.
On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 5:37 AM Mark Jeffries  wrote:

Meanwhile, HBO has renewed "Perry Mason:  The Skinny Years" for a second season:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/perry-mason-renewed-season-2-at-hbo-1303980

On Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 1:06 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV 
 wrote:

I must say that, despite my apparently being the only person who doesn't think 
Tatiana Maslany is all that or even that good (her vocal technique is 
non-existent, among other flaws), this week's episode was the first really good 
one. It was coherent, interesting, and had an ending I didn't see coming at all.
--Dave Sikula

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 9:24:43 PM UTC-7, Steve Timko wrote:
An unscientific survey of people on my Facebook timeline shows they declare it 
a hit.The most common comment is that it compares to "Carnavale." I have not 
seen that show so I can't comment.One Facebook friend said it compares to "The 
Wire" and "The Sopranos." Seems unlikely, but it is being praised.
On Mon, Jun 

Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: "Perry Mason: Official Teaser | HBO" on YouTube

[Kevin M.]

I only last week learned we have been paying for the HBO app, so this week
I watched WW84* and started their Perry Mason. It’s a decent enough story
so far, but there is zero relationship between it and the Perry Mason TV
series of old. Also, every ethnic and cultural stereotype seems to be used
to such an extent I’m surprised some progressive media watchdog didn’t
lodge a complaint.

*the entire WW84 movie was a long setup for the scene that plays midway
through the closing credits

On Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 9:05 PM PGage  wrote:

> I have just caught up on Mason over the last 5 days. There is a lot I like
> about it (unlike Dave I really like Rhys, and don’t care about keeping
> American actors employed). There is the obvious problem - that there is no
> reason to call this Perry Mason. Okay, it’s an origin story, but I would
> have found it more convincing if he had been bitten by a radioactive lawyer
> and transformed into an attorney.
>
> My main disappointment is that, unlike most golden age TV drama, the
> dialogue is particularly undistinguished. This is not The one of Chase, or
> Milch, or Simon, or Sorkin, or Weiner, or Gilligan, or Yost. This is
> particularly disappointing because there may be no genre better suited to
> snappy, memorable dialogue than noir, so what gives?
>
> I suppose if this series runs ten seasons like the Burr version, and for
> the last 9 Perry is a stalwart member of the SoCal legal community, sober
> and serious but taking the side of the wrongly accused in between cashing
> fat checks from corporate clients, we will be closer to a reimagined Perry
> Mason than the mostly unrecognizable confection we have been given so far,
> and I guess the time period is consistent with the early novels. But even
> if, I am not yet persuaded that the origin story part of this is worth it,
> or adds that much to the character. He used to be cynical, slovenly, corner
> cutting and suffering from WWI PTSD, now he is caring, meticulous,
> successful and straight. I think they could have communicated that in half
> of one episode, not an entire season.
>
> Or, put it this way: either the backstory is important to the HBO Mason,
> and then it has little in common with the original TV or novel Mason, or it
> winds up not being important, and then it is not necessary.
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 5:37 AM Mark Jeffries 
> wrote:
>
>> Meanwhile, HBO has renewed "Perry Mason:  The Skinny Years" for a second
>> season:
>>
>>
>> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/perry-mason-renewed-season-2-at-hbo-1303980
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 1:06 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV <
>> tvornottv@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I must say that, despite my apparently being the only person who doesn't
>>> think Tatiana Maslany is all that or even that good (her vocal technique is
>>> non-existent, among other flaws), this week's episode was the first really
>>> good one. It was coherent, interesting, and had an ending I didn't see
>>> coming at all.
>>>
>>> --Dave Sikula
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 9:24:43 PM UTC-7, Steve Timko wrote:

 An unscientific survey of people on my Facebook timeline shows they
 declare it a hit.
 The most common comment is that it compares to "Carnavale." I have not
 seen that show so I can't comment.
 One Facebook friend said it compares to "The Wire" and "The Sopranos."
 Seems unlikely, but it is being praised.

 On Mon, Jun 1, 2020 at 7:26 PM Jon Delfin  wrote:

> On Mon, Jun 1, 2020, 8:49 PM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV <
> tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
>> Based on the profile of Rhys in Sunday's NY Times, it looks like it's
>> an origin story:
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/arts/television/matthew-rhys-perry-mason.html?searchResultPosition=1
>>
>> I fully expect that in the final episode, Mason will be sitting in a
>> dark study, opining that criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot just
>> before Professor Kingsfield flies through the window.
>>
>
> Which reminds me (and almost certainly only me) of a comics trivia
> special that aired in the '60s. One of the questions showed that panel, 
> and
> the celebs had to guess what the blanked-out dialogue box said. Jack
> Douglas's answer: "Oh boy, now I can go to the orphans' picnic!"
>
> I recall very little of my childhood, but somehow, that stuck.
>
>> --
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> 

Re: [TV orNotTV] No, they're going to keep open till you shut them all down... you snakes!

[Doug Eastick]

Wow. What a weak statement , considering ICU's in LA are running at 100%
capacity.

(Sorry for the divergence to public health policy)


On Tue., Dec. 29, 2020, 3:53 p.m. 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV, <
tvornottv@googlegroups.com> wrote:

> LA Dept of Public Health to the area film industry: " [W]e ask you to
> strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic
> surge in COVID cases. "
>
>
> https://variety.com/2020/film/news/la-county-film-tv-productions-pause-covid19-1234875835/
>  (link)
>
> B
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "TVorNotTV" group.
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> email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
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> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/b7c93c97-5f83-49c2-b7ae-300068fce04en%40googlegroups.com
> 
> .
>

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[TV orNotTV] Re: So long, William Link

[Diner]

Born in my hometown of Elkins Park, PA.
He and Levinson met at Central High in Philly.

They did so much great work, but I still have a soft spot for "Ellery 
Queen" with Jim Hutton, which showed off their love of the mystery genre so 
well.

On Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 3:49:58 PM UTC-5 Bob Jersey wrote:

> As in "Created by Richard Levinson and..."
>
> 87.
>
>
> https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/william-link-dead-columbo-murder-she-wrote-1234876219/
>  (link)
>
> B
>
>

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[TV orNotTV] No, they're going to keep open till you shut them all down... you snakes!

['Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV]

LA Dept of Public Health to the area film industry: " [W]e ask you to 
strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic 
surge in COVID cases. "

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/la-county-film-tv-productions-pause-covid19-1234875835/
 (link)

B

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Re: [TV orNotTV] So long, William Link

[Kevin M.]

Semi-related, someone gave me Peter Falk’s autobiography for Christmas this
year.

On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 12:50 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV <
tvornottv@googlegroups.com> wrote:

> As in "Created by Richard Levinson and..."
>
> 87.
>
>
> https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/william-link-dead-columbo-murder-she-wrote-1234876219/
>  (link)
>
>
> B
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "TVorNotTV" group.
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> email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/85bd94c8-0c34-41b7-8cee-eb0ee818ae0fn%40googlegroups.com
> 
> .
>
-- 
Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[TV orNotTV] So long, William Link

['Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV]

As in "Created by Richard Levinson and..."

87.

https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/william-link-dead-columbo-murder-she-wrote-1234876219/
 (link)

B

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Re: [TV orNotTV] Monday Night Football and cable's slide

[John Edwards]

On Mon, Dec 28, 2020 at 3:16 PM Sean Healy  wrote:

> On 2020-12-28 11:51 a.m., Doug Eastick wrote:
> >
> > CFL, I believe, is totally on TSN cable. Some other Canadian can
> > correct me if the Grey Cup goes to CTV.
>
> I can attest there's been no CFL over-the-air for years now.  The Grey
> Cup doesn't go to CTV.
>
> It could easily be argued they've lost a generation of cable cutters as
> a result, though I'm sure they find alternate ways if they really want
> to watch.
>

The CFL has been exclusively on cable since 2008 (CBC's contract ended in
2007). Cable's penetration has always been high in Canada, so they lost
some households with that, but I'm not sure how many.

As for the NFL games on CTV, I'm under the impression that they go there in
part so that CTV can take advantage of the simultaneous substitution rules
(whereby cable companies have to replace the American station's feed with
the Canadian one when they are airing the same program at the same time).
That phenomenon during the Super Bowl has been a particular bone of
contention in Canada.

John

-- 
John Edwards
"You can insure against the weather, but you can't insure against
incompetence, can you?" - Phil Tufnell

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Re: [TV orNotTV] Article about The Chase on ABC

[Jim Ellwanger]

The GSN version had the same Chaser on all episodes -- Mark Labbett, "The 
Beast," imported from the U.K. version.

I tried out for that version and didn't make it, but they did ask me to be a 
stand-in contestant for their tech rehearsal day, so I did get some money from 
the production company (one day's worth of pay as a production assistant), and 
got to see The Beast in sweatpants and flip-flops. (Host Brooke Burns, though, 
was in full wardrobe and makeup.)

I tried out for this new version as well, over Zoom -- they were only taking 
contestants in Southern California. At the end of my tryout, they told me they 
were still looking for more contestants, especially women. I told one woman I 
know about it. Once again, I didn't make it onto the show -- but she did. (Not 
sure about her airdate yet, because as usual these days, they're not airing the 
episodes in order.)


> On Dec 29, 2020, at 7:43 AM, Adam Bowie  wrote:
> 
> In the UK, The Chase has become something of a lockdown hit, even though 
> regular episodes air at 5.00pm. There were a couple of days in November, 
> during a national lockdown, that it got 4.8m and 4.9m viewers - quite 
> unprecedented for a daytime show. There are various spin-offs that air in 
> primetime including celebrity specials and a slightly different format called 
> Beat the Chasers. The UK version is presented by the British comedian Bradley 
> Walsh, who you might have come across in the current incarnation of Doctor 
> Who. He also played it straight as a detective in the UK version of Law & 
> Order.
> 
> The format seems to have travelled quite a lot, although reading that piece 
> it sounds like it's been tinkered with in the ABC incarnation. In regular 
> episodes of the UK version, there's one "chaser" per episode from a selection 
> of possibilities. The others aren't being snarky backstage or anything - 
> they're not there at all. It's an opportunity to switch things around from 
> time to time. There has recently been a new "chaser" on the ITV show.
> 
> The daytime version goes up against Pointless on the BBC, and the two shows 
> have a friendly rivalry - even shooting on essentially adjacent sound stages 
> at Elstree (just north of London).
> 
> 
> Adam
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 3:10 PM Tom Wolper  > wrote:
> With all the Jeopardy fans here I'm surprised we haven't discussed this 
> upcoming show. It's taken from a British show, was previously adapted on GSN, 
> and stars Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.
> 
> https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/tv/seattles-ken-jennings-is-back-together-with-james-holzhauer-and-brad-rutter-this-time-on-abcs-the-chase/
>  
> 
> 
> -- 
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>  
> .
> 
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>  
> .

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Re: [TV orNotTV] Article about The Chase on ABC

[Adam Bowie]

In the UK, The Chase has become something of a lockdown hit, even though
regular episodes air at 5.00pm. There were a couple of days in November,
during a national lockdown, that it got 4.8m and 4.9m viewers - quite
unprecedented for a daytime show. There are various spin-offs that air in
primetime including celebrity specials and a slightly different format
called Beat the Chasers. The UK version is presented by the British
comedian Bradley Walsh, who you might have come across in the current
incarnation of Doctor Who. He also played it straight as a detective in the
UK version of Law & Order.

The format seems to have travelled quite a lot, although reading that piece
it sounds like it's been tinkered with in the ABC incarnation. In regular
episodes of the UK version, there's one "chaser" per episode from a
selection of possibilities. The others aren't being snarky backstage or
anything - they're not there at all. It's an opportunity to switch things
around from time to time. There has recently been a new "chaser" on the ITV
show.

The daytime version goes up against Pointless on the BBC, and the two shows
have a friendly rivalry - even shooting on essentially adjacent sound
stages at Elstree (just north of London).


Adam



On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 3:10 PM Tom Wolper  wrote:

> With all the Jeopardy fans here I'm surprised we haven't discussed this
> upcoming show. It's taken from a British show, was previously adapted on
> GSN, and stars Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.
>
>
> https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/tv/seattles-ken-jennings-is-back-together-with-james-holzhauer-and-brad-rutter-this-time-on-abcs-the-chase/
>
> --
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> 
> .
>

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[TV orNotTV] Article about The Chase on ABC

[Tom Wolper]

With all the Jeopardy fans here I'm surprised we haven't discussed this
upcoming show. It's taken from a British show, was previously adapted on
GSN, and stars Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/tv/seattles-ken-jennings-is-back-together-with-james-holzhauer-and-brad-rutter-this-time-on-abcs-the-chase/

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