TV Talk

~ MaryG

Now that I have apparently answered all the WordPress Daily Prompts, I feel left out. I enjoyed responding and reading other bloggers’ responses to the Daily Prompts for many months in 2023 & 2024. But alas, nothing lasts forever. I’ll just have to come up with my own blog topics now.

Did anybody watch the Emmys on Sunday night? My husband hates awards shows, but I’m like how can you not watch them, when we watch so much TV? It’s like seeing all your old friends at a party.

The best line of the night came near the beginning of the show when father and son cohosts Eugene & Dan Levy referred to it as “broadcast TV’s biggest night for honoring movie stars on streaming services.” So true! What the heck is Meryl Streep doing at the Emmys? GenXers grew up in a time when TV was TV and movies were movies.

Speaking of GenX, our best moment of the night was when Ron Howard (Ritchie) and Henry Winkler (Fonzie) came out together—on a recreated Happy Days set—and Winkler hit that jukebox as only the Fonz can.

In case you haven’t heard, Baby Reindeer won big. I guess that’s well-deserved, but I found the show pretty difficult to watch and my memory of it now is quite foggy. I mainly remember the level of depravity depicted.

Hacks also did very well, which I fully support. It’s a great show. And speaking of GenX (again), did you all know that Hack’s costar Hannah Einbinder is original SNL cast member Lorraine Newman’s daughter?? No wonder she’s so funny.

Actors from The Bear, The Crown, and True Detective: Night Country (Jodie Foster) also won several awards, which I support. All were terrific shows. (My husband would disagree on The Crown. He didn’t enjoy the Diana years, but I loved that part.)

The relative diversity at the Emmys was heartening. So many more stories are getting told these days and we are all better off for it.

There’s one show that got a zillion awards that I have not seen: Shogun (on Hulu). I’ve added it to the top of my “to watch” list.

What did you add to your watch list, based on the Emmy awards?

Other shows we’re watching now:

The final season of My Brilliant Friend on HBO Max. I’m still loving this show, in all its Italian glory, but my husband is bored. He doesn’t seem to care what happens to the two main characters anymore. I think part of the problem is that there’s so much time between seasons with some of these shows. People forget and/or lose interest.

The English Teacher on Hulu. This is a new show we found on our own. It’s very enjoyable, like Abbott Elementary, except it takes place in a high school. The main character is a gay high school English teacher, played by Brian Jordan Alvarez (the same actor who played over-the-top Estefan on Will & Grace). He’s very different in this role, but still funny. They tackle both current topics (like the art of drag and trigger warnings) and age-old high school traditions (like powder puff football and circles of popularity) in an open, non-accusatory way. GenX, Millennial and GenZ perspectives are all represented.

The Perfect Couple on Netflix. I’m a bit of a Nicole Kidman hate watcher. I mean, I love her, but I also hate her. But how can you not watch any of her limited series? Her costumes alone make these shows interesting. This one takes place on Nantucket and is based on an Elin Hilderbrand book. There’s a death during a fancy wedding weekend. Liv Schreiber plays her weed-smoking husband. Eve Hewson (from Bad Sisters) has a major role. Did you know that she’s Bono’s daughter?

The cast of the latest Nicole Kidman vehicle on Netflix: The Perfect Couple

Bad Monkey on Apple TV+. Vince Vaughn is funny, but I sort of regret ever starting this show. I was drawn in by the setting (the Florida Keys and the Bahamas), but I’ve really lost the plot, which is pretty nutty and stupid. I wouldn’t bother with this show unless you absolutely love Vince Vaughn.

17 thoughts on “TV Talk”

  1. Well, you can technically still answer the prompts. Duplicate your old answer, modify/update and publish. I tried that a couple of times, and it works like a charm.

    I finished the Perfect Couple two days ago and I agree about Nicole Kidman. It’s always this, NK again, sigh, must see then 😉

    My wife told me about Eve Hewson, being the daughter of Bono. Surprise, surprise famous offspring entering an entertainment career. She’s not a bad actress.

    Bad Monkey is mainly watchable because of Vince Vaughn. The plot is somewhat secondary.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yup, you just have to watch when it’s NK! (And google her age … every single time…because you sure can’t tell by looking!) And you’re right, I should quit worrying about the plot in Bad Monkey and just watch Vince. I get the impression he’s improvising a lot. What do you think? (apparently they did it all the time in Curb your Enthusiasm).
      I guess I could revisit my old answers to these prompts, but it doesn’t sound very fun. You would think WP could come up with new ones!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. NK looks great, although it’s not due to using exclusively expensive face care/products. Right, about improvising in BM, I get the same feeling.

        Curb your enthusiasm is another story, I heard Larry David gave his co-actors a lot of liberties to improvise, despite having a great script. Part of the magic I guess.

        Sometimes it can be fun to revisit an old prompt, but you’re right, they could come up with new stuff.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. There are a bunch of shows I have not seen, even some subsequent seasons of shows I loved like Ted Lasso.

    I didn’t finish Baby Reindeer. And I don’t want to watch shows that are “fictionalized” settings of the kind of garbage we see in the news. For instance I never watched that Kevin spacey robin wright show. He was a politician?

    The lovely show I have watched lately is Young Sheldon. I’m on my third watch through. There are many things about the show I appreciate.

    Did you watch NK in big Little Lies? A college contemporary of ours was in the show so that was my main draw.

    I too have been thinking about what I will do at the end of October when I will have reached the end of the prompts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Nope, I never watched House of Cards (with Kevin Spacey), but did watch Big Little Lies. I was fascinated by those beachside homes in Monterey! Settings can draw me in. Good tip about Young Sheldon. Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Funny. It isn’t exactly hate/love with NK–I really like her–but I’m not sure why. It’s more of an attachment to previous roles, I think, than shows like this one. I liked the Hulu one about the wellness cult. Perfect Couple I multi-tasked while watching except for a few parts. Bono’s daughter is talented and so pretty, but I wasn’t gripped.

    Didn’t watch the awards, but did watch Shogun and wrote about it. The Japanese actors are excellent.

    I’m reading the final Ferrante book now and then will watch the show! 🙂

    Hated Succession at first, then it grew on me. Tbh the dynamics reminded me too much of my ex’s family so it was enormously stressful. It was like them but with higher stakes. lol

    Loved The Crown, almost entirely, and loved the Diana episodes. However, I’m not sure if it is the quality of those episodes or just that I will watch ANYTHING about her. 🙂

    Severance is my fav. TV show currently, but it’s been years since it aired. Should be on again in January, I think. So excited for that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. The wellness cult one (9 Perfect Strangers) was classic Limited Series NK. Those flowing white tunics were 😂.

      I’ll have to read your Shogun post! Are there spoilers? Should I read now or after watching?

      I’m 100% with you on Princess Diana and Severance. It’s AppleTV+’s best production by far. We both loved it. Adam Scott is really a brilliant actor. And he’s AMERICAN! (My pet peeve is that all the really great American roles turn out to be played by extremely talented Brits.) I can’t wait for next season!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Thank you. Nice post. Now I’m very excited to watch! I remember my mother having the paperback book when I was kid, but I don’t think I ever read it or watched the original TV mini series.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment