Captain's Log
Never forget to spend time today in front of America's greatest invention
Where were you when the channel stopped turning?
Beavis and Butt-Head released its first four segments (so, two half-hours) of the new season last week. Each episode has one teenage and one old segment. In “Braces” / “Heart Attack”, we get a segment where Butt-Head’s braces come off and he realizes (or thinks)… he’s hot. So he starts trying to hang out with the hot kids at school, failing to realize he’s still a loser with a terrible personality. (How the braces come off is pretty funny, too.) In the second episode, Butt-Head has a heart attack while the duo climb the stairs to their apartment, and Beavis has to attempt to get help, in very stupid fashion.
The second episode starts with “Plumber’s Helper,” which brings back Todd, who now runs a plumbing service. After seeing him save the day with a woman in their apartment complex who drops her ring down the sink, they decide they want to become plumbers so they can score. Todd does not particularly treat them any differently than he used to. That’s followed by “A.I.,” wherein Mr. Van Driessen warns the class about using “AI” to do their homework, and our duo of course take the wrong lesson from this and try to find a computer so AI can do their homework. As you can see above, they instead find the first piece of equipment with the letters “AI” on it.
Pretty fun all in all and good to have the show back. My biggest laugh from the music videos might have come from the end of Dermot Kennedy’s “For Island Fires and Family” (in “Plumber’s Helper”), when Butt-Head just lets out “Personal expression is stupid.” Also, in “Heart Attack,” the duo watch Lamb of God’s “Ditch” and reminisce about the good old days of sitting on the couch watching music videos. I’ll let you figure out why that one’s funny on your own.
Saw the first two episodes of The Paper over the weekend. Some of the critical response has been tepid– perhaps understandably, people have been feeling like it’s an attempt to recapture the faded magic of The Office, and after the premise pilot, you could understand them feeling that way. However, the show has a strong cast, and I found the second episode really funny. Domhnall Gleeson, of course, is the main character here, but you may recognize some of the rest of the cast if you watch as much TV as I do (and not just Oscar Nuñez). Chelsea Frei was just on Animal Control! Ramona Young was in Santa Clarita Diet! But most of all, my fellow Let’s Start a Cult fans may notice Eric Rahill, who was gold every moment he was on screen there as Tyler, playing Travis here, who similarly has an incredibly high laughs-per-second ratio when he’s on camera. We’ll keep going; that second episode was enough to convince me the show could be very funny and be its own thing.
Only Murders in the Building premiered Tuesday with three episodes (“Nail in the Coffin.” “After You,” “Rigor”) coming out for the show’s first week back to kick off season five. Season four ended with the Arconia’s doorman, Lester, being found dead, and Sofia Caccimelio (Téa Leoni), who the trio turned down when she asked them to investigate her missing mobster husband… well, we kick off this season by learning the NYPD ruled Lester’s death an accident, which it clearly was not, and some digging by our trio suggests that the Caccimelio case and Lester’s murder are intertwined. (They also meet the dumbass Caccimelio sons, who are trying to start a mob podcast.) The second episode is almost entirely told in flashback, to Lester’s early days at the Arconia, how he got connected to Nicky Caccimelio, and how we got to the present day. (You’ll get to see a lot of our main characters past and present from younger days– not just our podcaster trio, or other regulars like Howard and Uma, but also past victims like Tim Kono and Bunny Folger.) And the double-murder investigation really kicks off in the third episode, as the trio examines Nicky’s body to try to find clues and try to figure out what might connect his murder and Lester’s, and discovering yet another secret of the Arconia. Plus, of course, dealing with their own issues– mortality is particularly on Charles’ mind (no surprise; Steve Martin is 80, and also last season’s case is probably hanging over him mentally). So far, so good.
Also, Keegan-Michael Key guests in the first episode as the mayor of New York, and while there wasn’t enough of him to say yet, I really hope he plays it as a parody of Eric Adams. (This season is actually loaded with guest stars so far; we’ve already seen Dianne Wiest, Bobby Cannavale, Beanie Feldstein, and Renee Zellweger, and that’s not including anyone I forgot, or any previous returning characters, especially the parade of appearances in “After You.”)
The Great North returned Sunday with “Cakeleration of Judependence.” Judy has planned a trip for the family to some maple-based theme park in Winnipeg, something she’s wanted to do since she was a child, and finding the one week of the summer the whole family is free to do it… and then Ham reveals he forgot to finish any of his homework for the semester, so Judy puts together an intense plan to have everyone rally to help Ham finish his homework for him. Some madcap fun this week. There are two more episodes airing on the 14th, and then that’s it for the season. (No word on whether that’s it for the show itself, although these last three episodes appear to be the only ones without “Adventure” in the title, which may be a sign of… something.)
Well, I’m not going to count Wednesday-night shows as “falling behind,” because I don’t want to stay up late every Wednesday night writing this. The entire season of The Paper was released at once, but similarly, not binging an entire season of TV as soon as it comes out doesn’t count as “falling behind” to me.
To be honest, there hasn’t been much, although I think there was an old King of the Hill or two in there. I’ve mostly been playing Silksong in my free time since it came out.
This is much more a time for beginnings than endings. (In this case, every new beginning does not come from some other beginning’s end.)
Futurama returns on the 15th and High Potential returns on the 16th. In two updates on previously announced shows, the new Alan Partridge is now called How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), and is currently planned to broadcast in October. (No more specific date yet.) The Chair Company was confirmed Monday by HBO to premiere October 12.
And in one update I wasn’t expecting to get… FX is kicking off English Teacher season 2 on September 25. As funny as it was, I’m not going to hold it against anyone if they don’t watch it. TBD if we end up covering it here.
Have you forgotten what you watched this week?
About the writer
Captain Nath
Born on the bayou, thriving in the mountains. Writer, gambler, comedian, singer-songwriter, bon vivant, globetrotter, and all-around Renaissance Man with perfect opinions about TV and music. Pronounced with a long A and with the H.
It's a gaming ship.
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Department of
Conversation
What did we watch?
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
A mediocre episode of the TV show given a cinematic treatment. Chris Carter is, sadly and counterintuitively, the worst of all the original writers; there’s something in the basic concept here, with a pedophile priest given visions of solutions to crimes and a terrible person who might be given the voice of God, but the movie is too muddled and boring to make it work, like they didn’t really think this through too well. On the other hand, the Scully/Mulder relationship not only works, but manages to build off the consummation of their relationship (the best scene is them cuddling in bed as they discuss the case).
M*A*S*H, Season Two, Episode Twenty, “Henry In Love”
So this is the one where Henry falls in love with a teenager, and Hawkeye and Trapper are concerned about it both in the sense that Henry is potentially ruining a very happy marriage with children, and in the sense that his love interest is barely out of school. I always enjoyed that the banalities and annoyances of everyday married-with-kids life is what stops Henry; the exact kind of thing you’d expect to push him away, but something that makes him feel needed and responsible.
“Henry in Love” has gradually become one of my favorite S2 episodes, in part because it’s such a good showcase for McLean Stevenson: not only does he nail both the comedy (everything with his new calisthenics regimen and bad hair dye) and the low-key drama (that phone call at the end and the way it brings him back to his wife), he finds the place where they intersect, making what could be a predictable, trite, and certainly eyebrow-raising midlife crisis into something funny and real. I also love the specificity of the jokes in that phone call home, with Henry wearily telling his son that no matter what his sister does, “You mustn’t hit her with the dog.”
Hawkeye asking if Henry managed to get his new girlfriend’s name/number “before her gym teacher called the police” always kills me. Other Hawkeye highlight: “Because one of us loves Henry Blake, and I think it’s me.”
I think if there’s something specific about Stevenson’s performance, it’s the way he sells that Henry is not thinking about something – not realising how foolish he looks while exercising, not listening to other people all that much, even pushing away thoughts like when he has to give commands.
That last gag was my favourite one of the episode, but unfortunately I had to get to work while writing my writeup and forgot most of the gags by the time I got home.
As much as I know that Col. Potter becomes a great character. I am really missing Henry as we moved from season three to season four.
The X-Files, “War of the Coprophages”
A funny and clever episode with a lot of high points, but I just cannot get over how little Mulder feels like Mulder.
One of the basic pleasures of TV is the built-in hangout aspect, getting to spend time with characters we know, so it’s jarring to have Mulder essentially be body-snatched for an episode and replaced by a douche who doesn’t return Scully’s respect and regard at all. He’s going to hang up on her mid-crisis because he sees a hot entomologist, and then he doesn’t even call back until a whim moves him, hours later? Nope. I buy Mulder getting distracted by (the potential for) sex, but not this much, and not with this little apology. Usually we only see him getting like this when it’s about the investigation. And then when Scully says she’s coming to join him, he says, “Whatever”? (This is where my wife said, “Fuck you, Darin Morgan.”) I have more patience with Mulder being the butt of the joke, like when Dr. Ivanov rolls his eyes at people who believe in little grey men–that’s kind of funny, and it’s coupled with the genuinely cool idea of aliens using robots to do their space exploration, just as we’ve come to do–but unbalancing the Mulder-Scully relationship just to make Mulder seem like an insensitive dick really gets on my nerves.
I will, however, give half-points to Mulder’s speech about being revolted by the wonders of the natural world and drawn to the otherworldly and paranormal in part because it feels somehow more tasteful–I think that speech is definitely there to make him seem like a dick, but it’s a compellingly weird idea, and even if it doesn’t ring true for him on the whole, there is something intriguing about the split between how Mulder pursues forbidden vs. authorized knowledge.
Anyway, other parts of the episode are a lot of fun! Morgan’s skepticism about the very premise of the show–the same reason he dislikes Mulder–can lead to some fascinating, unusual plots: it’s rare and cool for The X-Files to dive into how public panic can whip “paranormal” events into a whirlwind, and having the cockroaches can anaphylactic shock because of an allergy and then a heart attack because of fear of those previous unexplained deaths, etc., is really fun. (The bit with the sheriff cheerfully wrapping up that all their problems are solved even as he still has a whole host of violent weirdos in his town is pretty choice, too.) Again, I love the alien robot exploration idea. Ivanov and Bambi going off into the sunset at the end is funny and adorable. As always with Morgan, Scully is beautifully characterized–heroic, witty, smart, endearing–and I love moments like her eating the spilled chocolate candy. (Shades of her almost doing the same thing with the cricket back in “Humbug,” another Morgan episode.)
I once held a hissing cockroach in my hand. I do not recommend this experience.
It’s fascinating to me how TV characters, more than in any other medium, can spark frustration with characters acting out of character; it also fascinates me how there is definitely this line between “character being a dick” and “character being a dick out of character” with it being difficult to find the exact line – there are people who don’t like Xander on Buffy leaving Anya at the altar because it’s a dick move, and there’s me being angry because it doesn’t feel like something Xander would do at that point in his life and the writers forced the action on him. All to say we’re 1:1 on Darrin Morgan’s writing of Mulder – he straight up doesn’t get the character’s appeal. When Carter writes Mulder badly, I still believe it’s Mulder – he’s running down rabbit holes trying to chase The Truth, which is quintessential Mulder even when the plotting is terrible.
Yes! I had zero complaints about Mulder hanging up on Scully a couple episodes ago so he could jump onto a train car in reckless pursuit of Truth, even though that was also kind of a dick move.
Fully agreed on Xander, too.
Interesting thing when you’re in it for character (like us) is that you tend to accept when a character makes a bad or dickish decision as long as it fits with what they would do and want – Hannah’s watching The Wire and we’re all having a blast shittalking McNulty’s terrible parenting without ‘hating’ the character because it’s the kind of dumb arrogant shit he would do. See also almost everything we’ve said about any Shield character.
Was having a talk with my friend about this where I was concerned she WANTED a TV character to be good, but no, she just felt bad for his girlfriend.
Hot Shots! – As a rule, it is always funny when a person is right next to a picture of themselves a la Hot Fuzz or, in this case, holding up a magazine cover with their photo on it.
Andor – Finished off Season 1 and am already on Season 2, with Star Wars’ own equivalent of dumbass youth guerillas like the Bader Meinhoff Front being introduced and quickly left behind by Andor. Not sure why that plot beat happened but willing to see where it goes. Tracks that Syril and Deedra are together. Major Partighaz actually being a good boss and mentor (in a fascist context) is a nice three-dimensional character beat, he always gives Deedra strong advice and chides her without browbeating her.
One thing the show is really good at is conveying a fascist bureaucracy and how it interacts; Partighaz is a huge dick who could only operate in an environment of bullying and violence, and the fact that he respect Deedra brings out his better qualities.
His advice about the Empire’s innate sexism is bootstrappy and right wing, but in that environment, it makes sense!
Thought on the end of Season 1?
I loved the funeral march.
Same, it’s riveting stuff. I liked it a lot and the very Shieldian choice Cassian gives Luthen (and Luthen laughing because he clearly understands the ride or die logic here).
I believe Dead Meat is the first time I was made conscious of that particular trope and it was a hilarious revelation.
I think Dead Meat is a different character, I was picturing Cary Elwes’ Pirate character holding up the Esquire with his face.
Lol whoops, I meant the particular trope Dead Meat himself represents.
Secret Base, “Scoragami,” Part One – Some years back, Jon Bois made a chart of every final score in NFL history and realized that many possible outcomes had yet to happen. Since then, football fans celebrate any time a new combination occurs. Now Bois is looking at the history of America’s favorite violent obsession through the scores, and as ever it’s fun and fascinating. I no longer watch football, but Bois is always worth the time. Especially for explaining why the Washington football team losing 73-0 was a moment of spiteful beauty.
Slow Horses, “Hard Lessons” – Catherine’s kidnappers force River to break into MI5 HQ, but it’s probably a feint. Fortunately, Jackson is on top of things. Maybe too much so. The careful balance between competence and slow decay that defined Jackson Lamb in season one is steadily tipping to extreme competence. It is starting to feel like the rest of the cast, no matter how good the actors are, is really not necessary.
The Practice, “Duty Bound” – Earlier in the season, Bobby’s priest was in trouble. This time, it’s Jimmy’s priest and this time it’s an accusation of murder. Too many pieces here – is the priest really guilty? is his assistant framing him? Did the killer confess to the priest? Did the killer really shoot Jimmy, and will Bobby throw the killer out the window? – so it’s an exhausting hour. I get that Kelley wanted to explore the age old question of the confessional seal, but this was not the best way to do it. But at least we got to see Jimmy show some skills as an investigator. Oh, and Ellenor tells her boyfriend everything about the sting operation, but that’s okay since he’s decided he has to confess and not alienate his kids.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – more later, but I was not impressed.
Inspired by Lauren, I’ve worked Scrubs into the rotation of shows I put on in the background of boring tasks I have to do because I’ve seen them a million times and they bring me pleasure without having to pay full attention. It’s hard to think of a show with a clearer sense of its lead actor’s strengths; Zach Braff has become annoying as hell but he can easily sway between funny and charming; Sarah Chalke and John C McGinley each have very distinct forms of intensity that builds up over the course of a monologue; Donald Faison is one of the most effortlessly charming men on the planet. It obviously flows down to the other characters.
I also enjoy how everyone has distinct chemistry with one another – my favourite has always been JD and Carla, because they have the kind of relationship where he’s a soft-hearted and she’s domineering; he’s perfectly willing to concede to her authority and she doesn’t completely smother him. But they all have things like that; you can see how JD is attracted to Cox’s clearheaded authority and how Cox definitely completely smothers him because it’s fun and he keeps coming back.
Yes, more Scrubs talk! I agree with all of this, especially the part about the different sets of characters all having distinct chemistry and getting chances to define and showcase that through some actual storytelling: the JD and Carla relationship is meaningfully tested in “My Nickname,” and from then on, it’s something they both knowingly accept on those particular terms.
I have a soft spot for Turk and Elliot, too, where his fundamental emotional maturity–no matter how many straws he might stick up his nose–lets him cut through her neuroses and spell out a practical way forward. Their conversation about therapy is a highlight, and Faison kills all his line deliveries: “You know, I went to therapy once. –Once, though. Like back in ’93 to ’94, and then three months in ’95 … and then I did group, which was a disaster ….”
I think out of all the characters, Turk is the one who generally knows exactly what he wants and can admit that to himself – one could see this being what brings him and Carla together, but I think he outpaces her on this. It’s not just in terms of wanting to be a surgeon, but also in admitting when he’s acting out of ego or spite, meaning he’s usually best equipped to cut his losses on a bad decision. You can compare him to Cox, who is definitely smart but can fall down rabbit holes because he can’t just admit to an irrational decision.
Thinking of the whole plot with Turk’s mom and how Carla is freaked out by their similarities whereas Turk has already accepted that Carla reminds him of her best traits.
I was torn between whether to mention that part or the bit where he gets sucked into working out all the time with Dr. Cox (because he knows he’s getting soft) and then knows to just give up on it when it becomes obvious it means he’s losing quality time with Carla.
The way Cox says “I hate my body” and Turk double takes at hearing this is great – he has never hated his body! – and also spells out why Carla didn’t keep going out with Cox.
Oh man, I got an episode running now while I journal, and I’ll add on Cox and Kelso, where they’re equal in intelligence and, while legitimately hating each other, also respect that few people are playing their game at their level (“Oh come on, it’s no fun if you won’t play along!”).
“Well that’s ridiculous, people are bastards with bastard fillings.”
“Exactly!”
(And the phrase is “Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.”)
I knew I was getting it wrong and the original line is indeed so good.
The glorious comic timing! The outrage on Kelso’s face! If there was a museum of comedy, that moment would be a central piece.
I need a separate exhibit just for all the ongoing bits about Kelso’s affection for soup: “Heavens to Betsy, the gazpacho is scrumptious today.”/”Sorry, sport, I was thinking about soup.”/etc.
As long as there’s room for the greatest Kelso moment: “Then in fairness to the others, you will be Slagathor.”
Cox and Kelso always mustering up a certain amount of respect for people who can (at least sometimes) stand up to them and push back is both a great dramatic character trait and a key to their surprisingly sustainable relationship.
It’s hard to think of a more tempting or compelling dynamic than “game recognizes game”.
Ongoing TV reportage: still rewatching episodes of Scrubs. Last night was the excellent “My Last Day,” which feels like it’s doing what-if-we-get-cancelled wrap-up until the killer last minute or so, when Jordan gleefully blows everything up. Great finale, and this has to be one of the best first seasons of a sitcom ever, right? (Random highlight: Dr. Wen nonchalantly smacking the window when Todd is making fish-faces against the glass.)
Also, Peacemaker, “Another Rick Up My Sleeve.” Love how Gunn unshowily puts a huge, game-changing alternate reality element I hadn’t even thought about into an opening, with no fanfare whatsoever. (And spoils it in the episode title, no less.) Some terrific violence in this episode, especially when Peacemaker’s working without any traditional weapons. Continues to be a really funny, lively, engaging show. And
spoilery speculation
I agree with the theory I’ve seen that the alternate reality–where Peacemaker is an acclaimed hero alongside his (still alive) dad and beloved older brother–is going to be revealed to be a false paradise dominated by fascism and white supremacy. Right now, Chris has been thinking–to the extent that he, as a not-very-introspective-at-all person has been thinking about it at all–that his dad is better here, not that his dad is just happier because his values have become the world’s values, putting him comfortably on top. But the reveal would fit with the presentation of the “terrorists,” the general dearth of even background characters of color in the alternate reality–the contrast with the scenes set in our world is pretty pronounced–and even the softer, more appeasing Harcourt, who feels like she has to apologize for having boundaries like “don’t cheat on me.”
Year of the Month update!
This September, we’re covering these movies, albums, books, from 1938!
TBD: Cori Domschot: Bringing Up Baby/Holiday
Sept. 15th: Bridgett Taylor: Rebecca
And here’s a primer on some of the movies, albums, books and TVwe’ll be covering for 1973 in October!
Oct. 7th: Lauren James: Working
Oct. 22nd: Lauren James: The Wicker Man
Oct. 29th: Lauren James: Don’t Look Now