Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Hes Alive?

Stop quoting Young Frankenstein. Different Brooks movie 

Yeah, he's still alive. If you have Netflix and have ever seen Jerry Seinfeld's show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, he has an episode with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. Apparently the two of them are best friends and pretty much have dinner together nightly at one of their homes. 

Took the kids to see Inside Out 2 yesterday. Good movie. 

Thanks to my phone upgrade, Verizon gave me 3 months of free Disney+/Hulu. So I've been able to watch the first seasons of The Bear and Only Murders in the Building. Both very strong and living up to the hype and gushing reviews.

Only Murders comes across as a fresh, timely, and inventive way to tell an unfolding murder mystery.

Between the two, The Bear stands out as the more serious, artistic show. Able to capture the raw chaos of both a stressed restaurant kitchen and its workers dealing with their own uncertainty and trauma in Chicago. In this regard the character of Richie (below, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) stands out above the rest of the cast, stealing every scene he's in. Season 3 releases today, so more to look forward to.

I watched the first season of Only Murders and enjoyed it

Couldn't get into The Bear. Also, why is that show considered a comedy for Emmy purposes? That show is all serious drama.

Good point. I'm wondering if it's because of how the show was entered into consideration for awards? The serious dramas like Mad Men or Game of Thrones or Walking Dead are developed for hourlong blocks. Whereas the Comedies like What We Do In The Shadows or That 70s Show are 30 minute blocks. Since The Bear is roughly 30 minutes an episode, maybe that allowed it to be entered as a Comedy? Otherwise The Bear is about the most serious show going.

As for scripted TV as a whole, a lot of the tastemakers have been saying how the age of Peak TV is over. This is accompanied by vocal critics of productions like Disney Star Wars and the latest Doctor Who iteration asking why "shows all suck now." Especially with how poorly these intellectual properties are written as of late.

One critical theory behind this is that today's new generation of screenwriters bring very little life experience to the job because they are hired from very narrow post-college paths that are more focused on "representation" than engaging storytelling; hiring paths that are not open to outsiders that could bring interesting experiences to writing. This goes along with the sentiment of why the larger picture of mainstream writing has degraded over the past few decades: Most of today's writers aren't living the interesting lives that past writers have. 20th Century legends like Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut were war veterans and prolific travelers.

So is this what puts The Bear over the top? A lot of dramas can amp up the character antics, but with The Bear you can tell its chaotic kitchen setting that defines the show is depicted by individuals with experience in this setting. Turns out The Bear's showrunner, Christopher Storer, has experience in Chicago's restaurant industry. And his sister Courtney is an executive chef who acts as The Bear's onset culinary advisor.

Richie is an all timer of a television character. Love that guy.

I have always liked Selena Gomez

I find her to be a relatively poor actor. She now has a show on the food network which is a little bit cringe. 

However her being cast as the "straight man" in the trio against Steve Martin & Martin Short works. Her wooden deadpan delivery and lack of visible emotion plays a good foil against them. 

I like the instructional cooking shows and the cooking lifestyle shows.  

I absolutely loathe the "competition" shows, other than Iron Chef.

So basically I never watch cooking network anymore.