TV Drama Plots

Over the years there have been many dramas on TV. Some were westerns, some were police or private investigator shows, some were medical dramas, some were about lawyers. There may be a few other genres. Regardless, there are several standard plotlines that are recycled over and over. Sometimes they have to be slightly modified to fit the genres or era but they are very recognizable. Listed below are some of those plots. 

• The star, (a cop, sheriff, PI, doctor), is falsely accused of a major crime. Sometimes they are even convicted before miraculously finding the real culprit in the last five minutes. This usually involves escaping from custody to get the real bad guy.
• The main character or guest star has a twin or someone who looks exactly like them. Of course, one is good and one is evil. Usually, the bad one pretends to be the good one. Sometimes the good guy uses the identical appearance to infiltrate the evil gang. Somehow, they can even fool spouses or lovers.
• The cattlemen vs the homesteaders, sodbusters, farmers, or sheep ranchers. A goodhearted hired gun changes sides and fights for the farmers. Barbed wire is usually involved.
• Every TV private eye was hired by a precocious kid who offered a couple of bucks to solve some easy case. The case always leads to something much bigger involving real bad guys. 
• The fake and corrupt prophet/healer/preacher/cult leader was always good for an episode or two. 
• The psycho killer who was put away by the star (cop or PI) is freed, paroled, or escapes from prison or mental hospital. He then stalks the star to seek revenge. Often involves loved ones of the star being taken hostage. 
• In westerns, there was always the prejudiced army colonel or major or cattle rancher or settlers who have a grudge against the Indians. A past massacre is often involved. The star, the only voice of reason, finally gets the two sides together and they all live happily ever after. This was basically the entire premise for every episode of the old TV show Broken Arrow. 

  

  Broken Arrow

• We often have a brilliant doctor who is an alcoholic. The doctor turned to booze, or drugs when they couldn't save a loved one. He/she usually recovers to perform an almost impossible procedure and miraculously saves someone in the last part of the show. 
• The cop/private investigator star or his best friend is accused of murder. One shady witness is enough to convict them despite years of exemplary service. It's touch and go for most of the episode, but the star and/or his buddy is always cleared eventually.
• It's not an official private eye episode unless the star gets hit over the head. No concussion protocol was needed. 
• The star goes undercover, is almost exposed but talks his way out of it. When his cover is finally blow in the last five minutes, it's too late for the bad guys. 
• A once brilliant lawyer due to alcohol and/or some family tragedy becomes useless and maybe broke. Some underdog persuades him to take a hopeless case against the richest person or corporation in the area. This broken-down lawyer with a staff of one part-time person defeats the huge rich law firm and their rich powerful client.

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of the overly pat recycled plots. I'm sure you all have your examples. Plots you recognize within the first three minutes of the show and can almost quote the dialog that will follow. There are even some of these plots that are recycled over and over again in the same series. How many truly distinct storylines did Gunsmoke have?

wjh

Echoes of Laurel Canyon

Echoes of Laurel Canyon is a 2018 documentary about the musicians of the 1960s who congregated in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills. It is now streaming on Netflix. 

This was the time of The Byrds, The Mommas and the Poppas, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, CSN, and many others.

Jakob Dylan conducts interviews with several of the original musicians from that era and some contemporaries influenced by them. These are mixed with archival footage. There are also some redos of the old songs by Jakob and others mixed in. 

It comes through that there was a lot of cross-pollination and influences among the groups. The fact that many of these folks were neighbors facilitated that. Musicians also moved from one group to another.

One interesting factoid relayed by Brian Wilson is that Rubber Soul begat Pet Sounds. The Beatles say that Pet Sounds begat Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Each pushing the other.  This confirms what I had heard before and have always thought. Three pretty good albums.

This is far from a perfect documentary. Some early influencers and neighbors like Joni Mitchell are completely ignored. The revivals of the old songs by Jakob Dylan and company are not always very good. That opinion may be because I grew up with the originals and they are hard to improve on. I would have preferred more original music and in-depth interviews with those who inhabited Laurel Canyon back in the day. 

Still, if you are a fan of this music, it is a worthwhile look. You will probably learn something plus there is some good music. I rate this documentary a B. 

wjh

Seth Meyers - Lobby Baby

Seth Meyers is the host of the late-night talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC. He was formally the head writer and Weekend Update anchor for Saturday Night Live. He is a funny, smart, and articulate guy. I'm a fan and usually watch at least the monologue of his nightly show. 

Seth has a new comedy special on Netflix. Although he is very political and critical of Trump in his normal monologues, this special is primarily about his personal life as a husband and father of two young children. The title refers to the fact that his second child was actually born in the lobby of his apartment building. 

There is a rather short section of political jokes in the middle. The twist is that Netflix provides an on-screen button that allows you to skip the political joke segment. That way both Always Trumpers and Never Trumpers can watch and enjoy the program. 

The rest of the special primarily recounts the rather unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of Alexi and Seth's two children plus some other marital challenges. 

Seth usually presents his nightly monologue seated at a desk, Weekend Update style. I can remember when he first started hosting Late Night and did a standup monologue. He was pretty bad. Awkward, uncomfortable, and mostly lost. He has improved tremendously. He certainly doesn't command the stage like a Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, or Robin Williams (who does), but he is certainly adequate.

The material is pretty funny and self-deprecating. It is also mostly non-political. 

I rate this special a B+. Give it a look. Now streaming on Netflix. 

wjh

Goliath - Season 3

Goliath is an Amazon Prime TV series that stars Billy Bob Thornton as maverick and brilliant lawyer Billy McBride. A once big-time lawyer, he has forsaken all that and descended into an often drunken very small practice. Yet, he takes the down and out underdogs cases against the big corporate bad guys. He, of course, wins in the end against all odds. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two seasons. They are still available to watch on Amazon.  

In this third season, Billy is up against a family that controls all the water and commerce in a rural California agricultural area. Many farms, businesses, and residences have no water. The farms and businesses owned or in cahoots with the controlling family have all the water they want. 

Dennis Quad is the main bad guy for season 3. He plays Wade Blackwell, the top guy in Blackwell County. There are a few other big stars in the cast. 

The first few episodes of season three find Billy and several others in a hallucinogenic stupor fostered by Blackwell and his henchmen. These episodes were disjointed. Many characters came and went for no apparent reason. For a brilliant lawyer, Billy was extremely dumb and slow on the uptake. There was some bad, and over-acting by several of the characters. The whole script is filled with one dimensional, unbelievable, and over the top characters. 

Finally, midway through episode five, Billy figured out he was being drugged and actually began to act like a brilliant lawyer again. 

As usual, Billy won the case with some luck, investigative work, and legal maneuvering. The ending is also somewhat disjointed. It will be interesting to see if there is a fourth season and if so, how they put things back together. 

This was by far the worst of the three seasons. I can't really recommend this season, but it isn't terrible. The last three episodes are far better than the first four. 

I rate this a C overall for an uneven season.  The first two seasons are far better. 

wjh

After Life

After Life is the latest Ricky Gervais series available on Netflix. It is about a man who has lost his wife and not coping well with the loss. He is suicidal, stuck in a job he hates, has a father with dementia in a nursing home, and has no real friends. 

Because of his don't give a damn attitude, he has abandoned most polite behavior. He is rude to almost everyone. He has almost no filter on his mouth. He is purposely mean to those around him.

This is a very dark and downer series with an occasional funny line or situation. I found it unrealistic the amount of crap those around him put up with. His behavior would have warranted a punch in the mouth or complete avoidance. For the first four and a half episodes, Ricky is a complete ass. Then in the last episode, he does a 180° turnaround and becomes a caring and kind person with a will to live. Again, pretty unrealistic and sappy. 

None of the supporting cast really stood out although they were all competent. 

If you are expecting a hilarious Ricky Gervais comedy you will be disappointed. This is at best a black comedy with more black than comedy. 

The whole season is only six half-hour episodes so it is not a huge investment of time. Netflix has renewed the series for a second season sometime in 2020. Based on the way the first season ended, the next one should be brighter and hopefully funnier. 

I give this show a C+ rating. Not great, but not terrible either. 

wjh

Bosch - Season 5

Bosch is an Amazon Prime Video original series. Season five, 10 episodes, was released on April 19th. I have already watched all 10 episodes. It's good. 

Harry Bosch, the title character, is an LA police detective assigned to the Hollywood homicide division. He is a decorated and controversial detective and a special forces veteran who served in Afghanistan. As is expected of TV detectives, he does not always go by the book or follow all the rules. Each season concentrates on one primary crime investigation although there are other storylines, personal and criminal, going on at the same time. I love that a serious and complicated crime is not solved in the 43 actual minutes of a network TV show. The main season five crime is the murder of a corrupt pharmacist by a drug gang. A prominent side story is the attempt to overturn a 20-year-old murder conviction and simultaneously frame Bosch for planting evidence. No spoilers here. 

This series has enjoyed stellar performances by the main actors. Titus Welliver shines as Bosch, recurring characters Jamie Hector as Detective II Jerry Edgar, Harry's partner, Amy Aquino as Lieutenant II Grace Billets, Harry's immediate superior, and Lance Reddick as Chief of Police Irvin Irving, all are excellent. There are many other lesser characters, some who have been on all five seasons and several who have been in just one season. All competent and believable. Obviously, many of the bad guys don't survive for a second season or are sent to prison. 

Besides the acting, the writing is very good. This is the kind of show that you need to pay attention too. The clues are often very subtle and everything does not turn out as expected. It can be very intense.  

I have watched and enjoyed every episode. One warning, it's addictive and the writers are very skilled at ending each episode with a bit of a cliffhanger which tempts you to watch the next episode. For season five, the main storyline was mostly wrapped up in episode nine. Episode 10 opened several new storylines that can be expanded for a season six. In fact, Amazon has already confirmed that there will be a season six. Unfortunately, it probably won't be aired until April 2020. 

I highly recommend Bosch. Although each season can stand on its own, I would also recommend that you start with season one. It is helpful in understanding the relationships and history of the recurring characters. It's a complex web. The good news is that all five seasons are currently available on Amazon Prime Video and you can watch on your schedule. 

I rate season five and the entire series a solid A. Give it a try.

wjh

The Kominsky Method

The Kominsky Method is a comedy/drama on Netflix. It stars Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as two longtime friends who are going through life in their golden years. These two have a very loving relationship but are constantly needling each other. The difference between you and me and our best friends is these guys have some very funny writers coming up with their put-downs. 

Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas) is a somewhat famous acting coach. He runs an acting school with his daughter. Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin) is a very successful agent who owns his own agency. He has represented Sandy for years although he has been semi-retired for a few years. 

The other regulars are Mindy (Sarah Baker), Sandy's daughter and Lisa (Nancy Travis), a student at Sandy's acting school and his new love interest. 

There are several recurring roles including the students in the acting class. Some of the more famous recurring character actors are Danny DeVito as the guys' urologist, Ann-Margaret as a friend of Norman with ulterior motives, Lisa Edelstein as Norman's drug-addicted daughter, and Susan Sullivan as Norman's dead wife who still appears to him. All are good in their roles. 

There are also several well-known guest stars, many who play themselves. These include Patti LaBelle, Jay Leno, Elliot Gould, Corbin Bernsen, and Eddie Money. 

Sandy has had three failed marriages and Norman's wife of 40+ years dies at the end of the first episode. The second episode funeral is great. So now the two old friends need each other more than ever. Let the hijinx begin. Michael and Alan have a very good rapport as do Michael and Judy Travis. All seasoned actors who know what they are doing. The funny lines seem natural, not forced. Another bonus is that there is no laugh track. You get to decide which lines are funny. I hate laugh tracks, especially the overactive ones. 

The circumstances depicted seem mostly real too. Maybe that is because I am about the age of the principal characters. The fact that a urologist is a recurring character will give you a hint. 

I'm not sure if young folks will find the show as funny as I did, but since most of my friends are of a certain age, I have no hesitation in enthusiastically recommending The Kaminsky Method. It is funny and at times poignant. The episodes are 30 minutes so you can fit them in easily. There are eight episodes in the first season so it's only a four-hour investment. The good news is that the series has been renewed for a second season.

I rate this a solid A. Give it a try. 

wjh

Old TV

I was watching Encore Westerns late one night and a real gem came on. I use gem only in the context of nostalgia, it was not a great movie. It was Hills of Old Wyoming starring William Boyd from 1937. For you young folks, William Boyd played western hero Hopalong Cassidy for decades in movies and on TV. OK, again for the young folks, ask your grandparents who Hopalong was. This particular movie had an added bonus, it co-starred George "Gabby" Hayes. At one time or another, Gabby played the sidekick to just about every western star in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. This movie also featured Chief Big Tree who played the part of Chief Big Tree, a real acting stretch. The movie was fairly typical of the westerns from that era. Low budget, many continuity gaffes, weak story/script, and stereotypes and cliches for all the characters. The Indians were rather slow and easily influenced by the superior white men. Hoppy took on a slow staccato speech pattern with a strange accent when speaking to Chief Big Tree. Also, Boyd never took his hat off during the film so I don't know if his hair was completely white yet. He would have been about 42 when it was filmed. 

Boyd did over a couple of dozen Hopalong films in the '30s and '40s. The film series ended in 1948. Boyd bought the rights to all those films. In that year he rented one of those movies to a local TV station. It proved popular and eventually, NBC leased the whole library of movies. They made new Hopalong Cassidy TV episodes in the early '50s. There was also a radio program. Hoppy became a huge hit and began selling all kinds of merchandise like lunchboxes, plates, comics, dishes, cups, and of course, cowboy outfits. I had at least part of a Hopalong cowboy outfit when I was a kid. I remember the hat for sure but don't know if I had Hoppy holsters and guns or other outfit pieces.   

A couple of other interesting, at least to me, old TV facts from recent viewing were from Cannon and 77 Sunset Strip. 

A 1973 episode of Cannon guest starred David Jansen. The Cannon star was fat man William Conrad who was the narrator on The Fugitive TV show which starred David Jansen. 

During the '60-'61 season of 77 Sunset Strip, Richard Long joined the cast as a third private eye in the firm. He retained the character name and persona he used in the canceled Bourbon Street Beat detective series. In a '61 episode that featured Long, one of the guest stars was Peter Brock. Long and Brock would later star as brothers on The Big Valley.

Many of these old TV shows and movies don't really hold up very well but they are fun to watch. The stories are pretty thin and every show of a similar genre recycled the same stories. Like the old movie, the stereotypes are obvious and shocking. There was always a chance some future big star would be a young guest star or have a bit part. I wonder how the new programs and movies from 2018 will hold up in 50 or more years? 

wjh

School Safety Business

It is that time of the year again, back to school. I see one big change this year. Usually, the local TV stations are doing feel-good reports about little ones heading off to kindergarten or the first grade. The anticipation, excitement, and sometimes trauma for the kids and the parents. Maybe a story about a brand new school. Some high school football stories are usually sprinkled in. They encourage folks to send their first-day photos to the TV website or social media accounts. 

Well, apparently those happy celebrations are so 2017. This year almost all I'm seeing and reading about is school safety. What new safety equipment and procedures has your school district put in place? How much safety stuff has been purchased and at what cost? What training have the teachers and staff received? 

There have been stories about school safety seminars and conventions. The school safety business has become a $2.5 billion industry almost overnight. Metal detectors, locks, alarms, bulletproof desks, whiteboards, glass, and a hundred other items. There are also notification apps and equipment. Of course, there is no shortage of "experts" who will be happy to come to your school to provide a safety assessment and/or conduct training sessions. 

The "experts" that I've seen interviewed are deadly serious and make it sound as if every school will be invaded by a crazed gunman within the next few days. But, if the school district follows their advice and purchases their prevention equipment, all will be safe.

I know the local news outlets love a sensational story that they can hype. I wonder what effect all this dire and sensational reporting about school safety will have on the kids and parents. 

Wednesday, 8/15/18, was the first day of the school year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It is the site of last year's horrific school shooting where 17 students and staff were killed. That dominated the news. There were stories about the trauma the survivors have endured, the new security measures, the increase in armed security personnel, and ongoing counseling. More stuff to scare the kids.

Still, not one photo of little kids on the first day of classes. 

I know, news is news and it is mostly about bad stuff. I understand that the return of Stoneman Douglas students is newsworthy. A few stories about new safety procedures and measures are warranted. Students and parents need to know what backpacks are acceptable, what any new dropoff and pickup procedures have been implemented, that student IDs are required to be displayed at all times, etc. What we don't need are the furrowed brows and dire tones of the reporters, anchors, school officials, and security personnel. It is up to adults to protect our children, not scare the hell out of them. 

I wonder, with all the emphasis on school safety, the active shooter drills, the classes and seminars on the dangers, and the graphic news stories, what will be the results? Will kids be afraid to go to school, will they be nervous and scared all day every day, will grades suffer, will we have a generation of kids with PTSD? 

As usual, we go overboard after a tragedy. We did it after 9-11 and now we are doing it because of school shootings. As usual, the con artists come out of the woodwork to take advantage. The government officials cave to public pressure and pass laws and spend money on perceived solutions. Many of these so-called solutions have no history of actually working. There are no federal guidelines for what constitutes school safety. None of the new products like locks, cameras, bulletproof items, fencing or building design have any kind of certification. Whoever has the best salesmen and marketing gets the contract. 

Let's tap the breaks, quit scaring the students, staff, and parents. Do some real studies about how schools work and how to stop invaders or malicious students. 

Summer is over. Let's have a fun, productive and safe 2018-2019 school year. 

wjh

Recycling Famous Brands

I've touched on this subject before but the trend just keeps getting more ridiculous. That is the recycling of our famous brands. Apparently, the creative and marketing folks can's come up with new concepts. They now just slightly modify a well-known name or brand. Almost every trip to the grocery store, there is a new version or flavor of an old time product. 

TV and the movies are notorious for doing sequels, spinoffs, and revivals. This coming TV series, we have a new version of Magnum PI. Based on the previews I've seen, it looks like only the Hawiaan location and red Ferrari remain from the original. CBS already has the reboot of Hawaii Five-O. That same network also has the Young Sheldon spinoff of The Big Bang Theory. There are three versions of the NCIS franchise. There used to be several versions of Law and Order and CSI. This is not new, we have had numerous versions of Star Trek for the last 50 years. In the Movies, we have the Star Wars franchise and several other superhero sequels. The Ocean's series has used numbers between 8 and 13 to designate the films. How about The Fast and the Furious movies How many have there been? And all with the same script, just different cars and locales.

It is not just the entertainment industry. Food is a particularly derivative industry. There used to be one flavor of Cheerios, Oreos, Triscuits, Corn Flakes, 3 Musketeers, etc. Buying Triscuits, Wheat Thins or even Cheese-Itz is now a major decision point. They all have multiple flavors, sizes, and textures. Sea Salt, low sodium, gluten-free, no GMO, organic, and a thousand other descriptive adjectives. Some real, many complete marketing BS. Candy is and has always been gluten-free, but now it is trendy to put that on the label. Remember when yogurt was a small section in the dairy aisle? Now it takes up more room than milk. Is it really fair to call two vanilla cookies with a chocolate filling an Oreo? According to Nabisco, now almost every sandwich type cookie is an Oreo. There are dozens of flavors and combinations. While spinoffs and variations have always been around, the changes have come far more quickly of late. Oreos were mostly only available in the original flavor from 1912 until the 1970s when different shapes and sizes emerged. New flavors finally came about after 2000. 

Sometimes the new flavor or shape has absolutely no relationship to the original. It's the same for TV and movies. The current Mission: Impossible movie franchise has very little to do with the original TV series. The original was about a tight team of professionals who worked together to outsmart the adversary. Little or no violence or gunplay was necessary. Tom Cruise is a lone wolf who displays superhuman abilities and has an impressive arsenal of weapons. A low-key, brainy TV original vs an over the top bombastic movie series reboot. I'll take Peter Graves over Tom Cruise. 

There is at least one more disturbing area of this recycling trend. That is the reviving of a once iconic brand name for a new, usually crappy, product. I have seen late night infomercials that tout the Bell & Howell or Polaroid name. It's usually for some $19.99 plus shipping and handling, we'll double it for the next 10 minutes, product. Buyer beware.

I know this trend will continue and probably accelerate. In fact, I may recycle this bitch in the future.

wjh

Firing Line

There is a new TV program on PBS. It is titled Firing Line with Margaret Hoover. It is supposed to be a reboot of the old William F. Buckley show. I saw Hoover on some show last week plugging the new program. She said it would be true to the original, a half hour broadcast with only one guest. Hoover is a conservative and hinted that the guests would primarily be from the left or at least a moderate. She would then debate them over the issues of the day like Buckley did starting in the 1960's and running until 1999. 

Well, that is not exactly what I saw on her first show. Her guest was Gretchen Carlson, the ex-Fox News anchor and now chairwoman of the Miss America board. Carlson and Hoover are longtime friends and it showed. This was not a debate, but rather two old friends supporting each other. It was nowhere near a debate as promised. Both women are conservatives and in lockstep. It turned out to be a mutual admiration society. 

There were some women's rights issues discussed and they showed short clips from the old Buckley program. Nothing very stimulating or informative. Certainly no confrontation between the host and guest. 

Cordial, non-confrontational, self-promoting shows have their place. The Talk, The Tonight Show, Ellen, and others do this. My objection is that the new Firing Line has been promoted as a reboot of the old Firing Line. I used to watch that program to hear debates about the issues and probably learn a new word or two. Margaret Hoover is no William Buckley and her new show is not anything like its namesake. A little bait and switch.

Just like New Coke was not really Coca-Cola, this show is not really Firing Line.

I'll probably give Hoover one more view to see if this first episode was the norm or an aberration. So far, not so good.

Nationally it is broadcast on PBS on Friday evenings. Here in DFW it is aired on Sunday evenings on KERA (13). 

wjh

Beyond 100 Days

The second half of the old Charlie Rose PBS timeslot is now filled by Beyond 100 Days which is produced by the BBC. The program has been on BBC World News since the Trump inauguration. It is co-hosted by Katty Kay in Washington DC and Christian Fraser in London. Along with Amanpour on PBS, Beyond 100 Days should mean a little more international flavor to the PBS late-night lineup. 

This program is more of a traditional newscast. The anchors open with the top stories of the day. They have BBC reporting and video from around the world. There are usually a few stories they cover more in-depth. For these, they will often interview experts or the BBC reporters covering the story, some in studio and some via satellite. So far, their guests have not been the actual newsmakers for the most part. Katie was in Davos for the World Economic Conference and did a couple of interviews there.

The anchors also weigh in on the stories, adding their own knowledge or insight. There is also a small amount of chitchat between the anchors.  

Other than the international flavor and additional perspectives, this is not a must-see news program. Both anchors are competent, articulate and pleasant enough. 

I'll continue to watch when I have time. For now I'll give it an average grade of C. 

wjh

Armanpour on PBS

In mid-December 2017, PBS began airing Amanpour on PBS in the first half of the old Charlie Rose Show timeslot. My local PBS station didn't begin carrying the program until the first of 2018. Christiane Amanpour is an anchor and the Chief International Correspondent for CNN. She has been with CNN since 1983 except for a brief stint with ABC. She was raised in Iran and England and brings a unique perspective to the news. She is based in London but does many shows from New York also.

This is primarily an interview show. Occasionally she recaps a top story or two at the top of the show. The format is one or two guest interviews during the half hour. These guests are a combination of the newsmakers, experts, and other journalists. So far, she very rarely has more than one guest on at a time. On those occasions, the guests have been mostly civil and didn't talk over each other. It was a bit heated one night when a representative of Palestine and one from Israel were on together. Thankfully, both on satellite from different locations. 

I enjoy the news value and especially the more international perspective than we usually see on US news programs. 

I am not a big fan of Christiane's interview style. She often comes across as agreeing with her guests rather than being objective. That can lead to some softball questions. She can be tougher but also may apologize before asking the tough question. 

Overall, I like getting the information and the international flavor. It is not yet a real substitute for Charlie Rose.

The program has only been on the air for a little over two months, so there is plenty of time for improvement. I'll continue to watch, at least for now. My grade after two months is a C+.

wjh

Godless

I just finished watching the final episode of Godless, the Netflix original series. 

This western has two main themes. One is about a mining town, LaBelle, that is almost entirely populated by women since the mine explosion killed most of the men. The other is about a powerful, charismatic and delusional outlaw and his gang and his search for his lost adoptive son. Of course, the two stories converge at the series climax.

There are several side stories also going on. Some love stories, some revenge stories, some growing of age, plus a few others. I found it a little difficult to keep them all straight or even why some were included.

The series has beautiful scenery and photography. Several of the characters are over the top and one dimensional. Some are a little hard to believe. All are colorful.

The biggest and most known star is Jeff Daniels, he plays the bad guy and does OK. Michelle Dockery and Jack O'Connell are probably considered the main stars and are excellent although their story does not dominate the series. Merritt Wever is one tough broad. Others are also good. I feel the performances were better than the script or execution.

I found the series a little slow moving at times and somewhat disjointed. There were several long scenes of just people or scenery with music playing, no dialogue. Looked like filler to me.

My suggestion, if you are impatient and like action would be to watch enough of the first couple of episodes to get the story and then skip to the last two episodes when the real action takes place. The last episode is particularly action-packed and very violent. Spoiler alert, everybody doesn't live happily ever after. In fact, many don't live at all.

If you like gritty westerns with substantial violence, give it a look. I rate it a B- (B minus). 

wjh

Charlie Rose

Charlie Rose has been accused by several women of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. He has admitted indiscretions and apologized although he has said some of the allegations are inaccurate or false. Rose has been fired by CBS and his PBS show has been taken off the air. Bloomberg has also canceled the reruns on its network.

This post is not primarily about the current sexual harassment and assault issues we are now going through. I will say that it is a real problem and the culture needs to change. I feel bad for the women he took advantage of. I feel bad for all the people who worked on his PBS program and production company. I feel bad for his CBS This Morning colleagues, especially  Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King. They were truly surprised and upset by the revelations. 

I am personally pissed at Charlie Rose. He has been a regular part of my day for many years. Back in the 80's, he was the host/anchor of CBS News Nightwatch. Having often worked night shifts or irregular hours, I would be up during that show. In the 90's, Charlie started his interview show on PBS. I would often watch that show over the years. During the last five years, I have tuned into the CBS This Morning show when I have watched morning TV. I have also been recording The Charlie Rose Show on PBS. I would either watch it live at midnight or the next day. That means I have invited Charlie into my home for anywhere from one to three hours a day. Then there were also the segments he did for 60 Minutes or substituting on the CBS Evening News. I guess I've regained some time in my day now that he is gone.

Here is why I am pissed. It's not because I feel sorry for Rose, it is because his PBS show was a rare oasis in the bombastic, loud, ill-informed desert of what passes for news, commentary, analysis, and discussion on TV. He was prepared and informed for the interviews. When there were discussion panels, there was no shouting or talking over others. He had the best and the brightest guests. The show or segment topics were very diverse. It was not just a news or political show. Charlie's guests included, besides the usual news reporters and talking heads, authors, scientists, medical professionals, actors, directors, foreign journalists, diplomats, heads of state and on and on. The show was interesting, informative, and educational. That's a rare combination on today's TV landscape. It was an adult show.

Will someone or some show come along to fill that void? Maybe, but it is not a given considering the current state of TV news. Maybe there is already another host/show doing the same thing. At the least, I have to scour the channels and look for another adult show. At the worst, there is no other show like Charlie's. That's why I'm pissed at Charlie Rose. Because he couldn't keep his hands to himself and his dick in his pants, we lose an accomplished journalist. His TV career is over.

There will be more fallout from this shift in how we deal with sexual harassment. The shift is long overdue but it will be painful. 

In conclusion, thank you, Charlie Rose, for all the good work on TV over the years. Fuck you for being a derelict behind the scenes. 

wjh

The Opposition

Anybody who has followed this blog knows I am a fan of late night comedy TV. One of the latest entries is The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. It airs on Comedy Central right after The Daily Show.

I guess you could consider this as a spinoff. Klepper was one of the fake correspondents on the Daily Show, usually playing a counterpoint to the opinions expressed on the show. He was the establishment white guy although always with tongue firmly in cheek. Some of his pieces during the 2016 campaign were very good. 

His new show is supposed to be a satire on today's right-wing conspiracy theory media. Much like the old Colbert Report was a take-off on Fox News shows with their pompous, bombastic hosts. Colbert primarily used The O'Reilly Factor as a model. The Opposition seems to be a toned down satire of Infowars with Alex Jones. Lots of conspiracy theory, fake news, and lies. 

The show is not as over the top or as loud as Alex Jones. In fact, I'm not exactly sure what it is. I suspect the show's producers, writers, and stars don't know exactly what it is yet. Sometimes it is an outright satire of the wacko right and sometimes it seems like another version of The Daily Show.

Jordan Klepper is a funny guy. He did good work on The Daily Show and does some good bits on The Opposition. Unfortunately, the supporting cast is very weak. As mentioned, the writing and focus are disjointed. 

I've watched eight or ten episodes and they are not getting any better or more consistent. If it remains on the air, I'll check it out again in a couple of months. I realize that some new shows need to find their voice. Right now, I don't think it is worth the ½ hour investment four nights a week. 

After the first couple of weeks, I have to rate this show a C-. If we are lucky it will find it's footing and get better.

wjh

The Domino Effect

The other night while watching the Florida Gators game in the Men's College World Series my TV went dark. Bad timing. I only have one large TV so I switched to a laptop or tablet to stream the rest of the game. The good news is that the Gators won the game and ultimately won the CWS. The bad news is that the black screen was the TV, not a cable or power problem.

That meant I needed a new TV. It was not a purchase that I had planned especially the same month I bought a new washer and dryer. That's the bad news. The good news is that I think I found a good deal on a TV. Bigger screen, 4K picture, and more features than my old TV. It also cost about half what the old one cost a few years ago. 

Don't you just love technology? The products keep getting faster, better, and cheaper. That million dollar computer from 25 years ago is now outmatched by your phone.

Back to the saga of a new TV. I ordered it online and the seller chose a delivery by FedEx. I hate FedEx. The delivery was scheduled for "by 8:00 PM" so I stayed home all day. I didn't want a TV left at the door and didn't want the delivery delayed. So, the delivery was at 9:00 PM, a whole day of waiting. This is a recurring theme with FedEx. The deliveries are either extremely late in the day or not until the next day. UPS, USPS, and Amazon do a much better job for me. Complaints to FedEx have gotten no results. 

I started setting up the new TV at around 9:15. First step was to attach the feet and put it on the chest I use for a TV stand. Oops, my old TV had a pedestal stand in the middle. The new TV has feet near the edges. Those feet are about 34" apart. Unfortunately, my old TV stand/chest has a 30" top. That's a problem. For the time being, I took the heavy corrugated piece of cardboard from the packing box and put it on top of the chest to extend it. It works for the very short term. 

The TV setup was fairly straight forward. It is a little more complicated than years ago when you just connected the rabbit ears antenna, plugged it in, and turned it on. Now there are cable TV, antenna, internet, DVR, speakers, DVD player, Chromecast, Roku (&/or other streaming devices), and maybe other stuff. The first thing when the new TV is turned on, it requests an internet connection. As soon as that is established, it downloads and installs software updates. That's a little different than that 1960 Motorola or Zenith TV. Then you have to hook up all the other stuff. Finally, you need to go through the setup menus and maybe program a remote. If you are lucky, everything works. In my case, it did although I didn't hook up everything due to the temporary TV stand situation.

That brings me back to the domino effect part of this post. The cardboard extension to the TV stand extends a few inches past the doorframe to the den/office. I already have a chair on the other side of that door that infringed into that doorway. The path is now pretty narrow. The top is now right up against a table on the other side. In short, the new TV doesn't fit. I'm going to have to buy a new TV stand/cabinet. It will have to be bigger than the old chest I have used for years. Besides a new piece of furniture, I will have the displaced current stand. I can't get rid of it. That piece of furniture was in my bedroom when I was a kid. It is older than my long deceased Mom. I inherited much of my folks' other furniture which is all close to 80 years old. Can't get rid of that stuff. Any TV stand I get from Ikea or Amazon will not last 80 years. 

I will have to rearrange the whole living room/dining room area all because I got a new TV that I really didn't want to buy. That's the domino effect. It happens all the time. Make one small change and it causes a series of others. Not just with furniture

This post is just an observation, not a rant or complaint. Having to rearrange the deck chairs to make room for a bigger and better TV is at best a minor first world problem. I will survive.

wjh