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thebreakfastgenie · 2 years

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1,9,14,15

1.favorite episode

I answered this yesterday but Comrades in Arms Part 2 because Hawkeye Pierce saying "coarctation of the aorta" is actually something that can be soooo personal. Also Best of Enemies is a favorite.

9. WORST episode

Objectively I think it's Operation Noselift. The Joker Is Wild is one of my personal least favorites though.

14. thoughts on the finale

I love the finale so much. I've watched in nine times since November. There are things I think it could do better, most of which kind of unavoidable because David Ogden Stiers was sick and missed some filming. The only other thing is I feel like BJ deserved a storyline besides "really wants to go home" because that being in the last episode where they do all go home very shortly after takes most of the punch out of it for me. My favorite parts of the finale are Sidney's scenes, both at the hospital and back at the 4077th. The directing choices make me insane. Some of the hospital shots are so beautiful. That opening shot.... chills. Alan Alda's performance as Hawkeye is so so so good the portrayal of mental illness is just !!! (this makes a lot of sense if you know about Alan Alda's mother). The last like fifteen minutes is literally just everyone saying goodbye which is a perfect and necessary choice. I'm insane about Hawkeye's wardrobe choices. I'm extremely insane about the Burma Shave signs. I would kill anyone for Klinger.

I am pretty sure the deal with "What would you do if I was dying? Would you hold me and let me die in your arms or would you just let me lay there and bleed?" is that Alan Alda thinks this is a normal, hinged thing to say in casual conversation.

I'm the biggest mash finale fan. I need to watch it again soon. It's everything to me. And I love what a cultural moment it was. I could say more but I'll stop now.

15. favorite behind the scenes moment/story/clip from the gag reel

favorite gag reel moment is a dead tie between Gary Burghoff trying to take off his pants, "stop laughing at me for chrissake I have to hit my goddamn egg," and the one where it takes Alan Alda like 20 takes to make a basket. Favorite behind the scenes story... maybe the door/nor script typo incident. Also the time Alan Alda showed up to work hungover but it was fine because Hawkeye was also hungover in that scene. Also the David Ogden Stiers prank story that became An Eye for a Tooth. Also the last day press conference when Jamie Farr said he didn't get to hug everyone and Alan and David immediately tackled him.

#mashposting

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elliebartlets · 3 years

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Y’all please watch this I’m begging you

I feel like I shouldn’t highlight my favorite parts below because I feel annoying but that’s what I do so too bad

youtube

• The props Allison stole from set!! I want them, especially the plaque she took! Too bad I can’t drop $2500 😭

• Brads obsession with dogs and the tweet about how he went to the dog park after shooting to watch dogs 😂 and the video of him howling with his dog

• Did Janel Maloney say Brad looked like John in that clip as in John Spencer?

• of course Martin Sheen makes an entrance like President Bartlet

• they’re was a confusing discussion about Get Out and Judas and the Black Messiah. Also had no idea Martin was in the black messiah what

• Martin asking if they’re all fine 🥺

• “Malia’s not coming here is he?” Oh Brad

• Allison’s dog!!

• “Aaron said “I just want you to know you’re the one who’s shot.” And it was a perfect showbiz moment of “wow that’s a great compliment” and “am I getting fired?”

• ah and then Brad mentioned Mrs. Landingham getting killed off

• they showed the scene where Bartlet kisses Leo on the cheek and Martin goes “I still miss him.” 🥺😭

• Brad talking about no one noticed he didn’t have a scar on his chest when he’s lying in bed with Donna in season 7: “With all the weird west wing fans nobody’s ever noticed.”

First of all, thank you Brad I consider that a compliment. Secondly I never noticed but I thought some people did? Wasn’t this talked about in west wing weekly?

• Richard “you guys slept together?”

• *shows the clip of Josh blowing up in the Oval Office in Noël*

Brad: I think it’s disrespectful for Richard to eat while I’m acting

• Danny just appeared!! wtff that’s so weird cause the actor never does anything with west wing (at least he didn’t for west wing weekly)

• Richard has been eating this whole time and saying basically nothing 😂 And I’m pretty sure he’s eating a salad which makes me think of “you could cover this thing in barbecue sauce and it’s still taste like the ground.”

• Bradley offering to sell scripts he signed and the hosts saying if they can get anyone else to sign it’s a bonus and Bradley’s like “I promise we won’t let Malina sign.”

I find it funny Timothy Busfield laughed at that since he doesn’t get along with Josh Malina

• I think Richard is frozen cause he’s not moving at all

• lmao Allison was trying to get his attention (“Richard! Richard!”) as the hosts were trying to ask her about what she thought Tim’s (Danny’s) favorite scene with her was. He said the goldfish scene (obviously)

• ok Richard’s screen just dissapeared ☹️

• Tim just offered to sign a box of goldfish and a zoom acting/directing class and Brad goes “I’ll pay for Malina to take the class.”

• oh my god they brought Richard back and he’s just obviously been eating I’m dying 😂😂😂

• They brought a doctor on to talk about the vaccine and asked if the cast had any questions and Richard asked if/when he should get a vaccine cause he had COVID and during that Allison was trying to reposition the camera and her chair cause the sunlight was directly on her and it was funny because Richard’s asking this serious question about antibodies and Allison’s getting lowkey frustrated cause everytime she repositions herself and sits back down the sunlights still on her

• Jimmy Smits and Mary McCormack have appeared

• woah they got Alan Alda!!

• lmao Alan Alda apologizing to Jimmy because he wanted to be the president so badly to the point that he thought he was Vinick and thought he might’ve freaked out Jimmy

• omggg Mary McCormack and Melissa Fitzgerald are writing a book and they described it as a “love letter to the west wing and to public service” and have been interviewing the cast for it and it should come out in less than a year ahhhhh

• “It’s a love letter to public service and a Dear John letter to Josh Malina.”

• Martin Sheen has the best laugh next to Allison Janney

• forgot to mention Richard was walking somewhere wearing a mask and the disconnected again and hasn’t been back since lol

• y’all I needed that pick me up

#the west wing #the west wing cast #bradley whitford #allison janney #martin sheen #richard schiff #janel moloney #alan alda #jimmy smits #melissa fitzgerald #the only person they were missing is Dulè

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

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TIGHT SHOES

April 12, 1942

The Gulf Screen Guild Theater present Damon Runyon’s comedy Tight Shoes, which was a 1941 Universal Pictures success.

Directed and Hosted by: Roger Pryor

Music by: Oscar Bradley

Written by: Damon Runyon

The Screen Guild Theater (aka The Screen Guild Players), was one of the most popular drama anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio. At this point it is being sponsored by Gulf Oil. From its first broadcast in 1939, up to its farewell in 1952, it showcased radio adaptations of popular Hollywood films. Many Hollywood names became part of the show, including Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and many more. The actors’ fees were all donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, an organization that provides aid to retired actors. Screen Guild Theater was heard on different radio networks, beginning with CBS from 1939 to 1948, NBC from 1948 to 1950, ABC from 1950 to 1951, and back to CBS until its last episode on June 29, 1952. Throughout its run, a total of 527 episodes were produced.

Tight Shoes was a 1941 comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell based on the 1936 story of the same name by Damon Runyon. The film was produced by Universal Pictures. It was re-released in November 1947.

The Daily Variety review called the film "...the closest interpretation of the Damon Runyon humor that has yet been brought to the screen."

The story was again broadcast on radio as part of “The Damon Runyon Theater” on October 30, 1949. The cast included Alan Reed, Gerald Mohr, Frank Lovejoy, Herb Vigran, Sheldon Leonard, William Conrad, Jeff Chandler, Lionel Stander, Sidney Miller, Olive Deering, and Joe De Santis.

RADIO CAST

Lucille Ball (Sybil Anderson) plays the role originated in the film by Binnie Barnes. She had just released her film Valley of the Sun, which was her 54th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933.

Sylvia Ash is the self-described “Biggest Star on Broadway”. In the film version, Sybil’s last name is Ash.

Red Skelton (Swifty Miller) plays the role originated in the film by Broderick Crawford. He also starred with Lucille Ball in the films Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943), Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together.

In the film version, the character is known as Speedy.

George Tobias (Blooch) plays the role originated in the film by Edward Gargan. He later appeared with Lucille Ball in the film The Magic Carpet (1951).

SYNOPSIS

Shoe store owner Amalfi is forced by crook Swifty Miller to allow the business to be a front for illegal gambling. Jimmy Rupert is a clerk in the store and sells a pair of shoes to Miller that are too small and hurt his feet. Distracted by his pinched feet in the tight shoes, Swifty places a losing bet on the horse named Feet First. A fight ensues with his girlfriend Sybil and she leaves him. He blames his loss on Rupert and gets him fired from the shoe store. In response, Rupert complains about crooked politicians who allow crime to flourish, and successfully runs for office. He is opposed by the newspaper, but supported by Miller's ex-girlfriend Sybil. On the day he wins the election, Rupert and Sybil are engaged to be married.

“TIGHT” TRIVIA

This is not Lucille Ball’s only time appearing in a script by Damon Runyon. She often said her favorite performance of hers was in The Big Street (1946), based on the Runyon story “Little Pinks”. Lucille Ball did another Damon Runyon story, Sorrowful Jones in 1949, based on his 1932 story “Little Miss Marker,” which had previously been filmed in 1934. Damon Runyon also created the source material for the hit Broadway musical Guys and Dolls (1950), which starred Robert Alda, who went on to make several appearances on “The Lucy Show.” When the film version was made by MGM in 1955, Lucy and Desi were also under contract to the studio. A brief clip of the film was inserted into the middle of an episode of “I Love Lucy” called “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3), although the clip was removed after its initial airing.

Because it was wartime, the Gulf commercials stressed using high-grade gas and motor oil to reduce waste and conserve.

The story is told in flashback, starting with Swifty Miller in the Army, giving advice to a soldier who wants to burn his shoes because they are hurting his feet.

“He bet fifty thousand dollars on a nag called Feet First to come in head first, but it was dead first, and carried out feet first.” ~ Sybil

Like most characters in Runyon stories, Swifty and Sybil are gamblers, and like going to the racetrack. Lucy and Desi also were fond of horse racing, and frequently attended racing at Del Mar in California. Several episodes of Lucy sitcoms were modeled around racing and racehorses.

Mr. Amalfi wonders if the government still prints $10,000 bills. He is correct! The bill was last printed in 1934. Even in 1942 there were not many in circulation. Today they are very rare, and the highest value US bill to be accepted for a transaction.

Swifty says he has bought a new victory suit. Sybil wonders if the victory was at Bull Run? The Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fought on July 21, 1861. Sylvia is intimating that his suit is woefully out of style.

Swifty says he’d do anything for Sylvia, even tear up his autographed picture of Roger Pryor. Pryor was a leading man of Broadway and Hollywood, doing 50 films between 1930 and 1945. He was married to Lucille Ball’s friend and co-star Ann Sothern, but the couple divorced the same year this radio show aired.

“I’m off my onion for ya, sweet pea. Or maybe it’s just gas pushin’ up under my heart.” ~ Swifty

When Sybil entertains at the political rally, the orchestra plays “My Heart Belongs To Daddy” written by Cole Porter for the 1938 Broadway musical Leave It to Me. Marilyn Monroe would sing it in the 1960 film Let’s Make Love. Lucille Ball sings it on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy the Gun Moll” (TLS S4;E25) on March 14, 1966. In this radio show, Lucille Ball does not sing, we merely hear the orchestra playing.

A radio reporter talks about the local election using fictional names, but when mentioning the national election, he says “Roosevelt is leading Wilkie.” This places the date of the action on November 5, 1940, when incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt handily defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Wilkie for President of the United States. Swifty talks back to the radio and says “Yeah, we know that.” Due to the war, Roosevelt sought an unprecedented third term, and very few expected him to be defeated in light of his popularity.

When Jimmy objects to Swifty’s tone around Sybil, Swifty calls him “Emily.” This is a reference to well known authority on etiquette, Emily Post (1872-1960). She was an author, whose newspaper columns and radio broadcasts were very popular in the 1940s.

The show ends with a promotion for next week’s show “A Woman’s Face” starring Bette Davis, Osa Massen, and Conrad Veidt. The 1941 film originally starred Joan Crawford in the role taken by Davis. Massen and Veidt reprise their roles from the MGM film directed by George Cukor.

The announcer says that Lucille Ball will soon be seen on screen in Little Pinks, which was the working title for The Big Street, also by Damon Runyon.

#Lucille Ball #Red Skelton #Damon Runyon #Tight Shoes #George Tobias #Gulf Oil #Screen Guild Theatre #radio #A Woman's Face #Emily Post #My Heart Belongs To Daddy #Wendell Wilkie #Franklin Roosevelt #Roger Pryor #Bull Run

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florrickandassociates · 4 years

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TGF Thoughts: 3x08-- The One Where Kurt Saves Diane

I wrote this over the span of, like, a full year and it is not very interesting. I am posting it simply because I am committed to the idea of writing something about every episode of this series. I recommend that you go check out Evil instead of reading this.

I’m just not intrigued by the clips of news footage about some sort of “Unredacted Unspecified Report” that open this episode.

Diane doesn’t seem to be that interested either: she’s not watching and talks over it.

More interesting (but, tbh, not actually that interesting to me either, because I’m losing interest in this season) is that Diane gets a letter of warning from a ~mysterious source~.

Most interesting of all: Diane and Kurt have a normal morning together.

Kurt spots the letter first and opens it. STOP DIANE. THEY KNOW ABOUT THE HACK. So maybe it’s directed at Kurt. Or maybe it’s supposed to say, “Stop, Diane.”

I still haven’t warmed to Diane’s bedroom set, especially because it still feels like Diane lives in her bedroom and her home has no other rooms.

Joy, Felix Staples has returned. All I have to say about this case is that the day this ep aired, basically what’s happening in this case happened in real life, because… Kings.

Hello, it’s October now and I suddenly felt like returning to The Good Universe and writing. It’s been a while.

My memory of this episode/arc is that Diane and Liz just did something uncharacteristically dumb and illegal, and this is the episode where Kurt secretly puts an end to the shenanigans without Diane even knowing. I remember this episode being satisfying, if only because it got rid of the aforementioned dumb and illegal plot. Let’s see how good my memory is.

Wait why don’t I remember Roger Bart being on this show and why didn’t I note it earlier?! How could I let George The Killer Pharmacist go unmentioned?!

On that note, how did I not use the opening scene of the season (Diane saying “I’m happy” as an excuse to ramble about how weird it is to experience happiness on a personal level in today’s world?) (I was just watching 3x01.)

I’m actively not watching the case scenes so they don’t kill my drive to actually write this.

Oh God, I’m going to have to deal with Blum again at some point. I had blocked out his bloviating. I think this is the last of the Blum/Maia free eps?

The weird Lucca/British actor plot is still happening!!!! I didn’t miss it during all those months in which I wasn’t reminded of it.

The joke about how these TV lawyers aren’t like other TV lawyers, except they are, was funny the first time.

Always great to see how Lucca, who is the head of a department at this point, gets called into other cases frequently. Definitely how things work.

Is it bad that I’m more interested in making a mental list of all the times TGF/TGW have filmed in this little park than this Marissa/Alan Alda scene?

I can see why this is the episode that made me stop writing these for a bit. So far, this ep is all case and a subplot I don’t care for.

You know what else was funny the first time and has hit a point of diminishing returns? The thing where a main character’s love interest shows up in court and then they get thrown off their game and it’s CUTE FLIRTING!!! Find a new, unique way to signal interest, writers!

This gag now involves literal gagging. I’m overjoyed.

Lucca’s monologuing at a toilet about her crush. This plot is cute. It isn’t bad. It is watchable. BUT! I know it’s a novelty, so I’m just not that excited by it or invested in it. It’s not really deepening my understanding of Lucca.

Lucca picturing everyone in court in their underwear is just unnecessary and honestly not funny???

Kurt leaves the warning note out for Diane to see. He confronts her about it and she asks for a drink.

The credits are at 19 minutes in. I do love them. Have any of you watched Evil yet? I watched part of the first episode (I intend to go back to it, I’ve just been busy) and the credits resemble the TGF credits. (Update as of March 2020: I watched all of Evil and you should too.)

Diane tells Kurt about Book Club or #Resistance or whatever I was calling it. Even though Diane doesn’t tell him the full story (mostly for his own protection, and she makes it clear she’s omitting stuff), I do appreciate that Diane and Kurt don’t keep secrets from each other, and if/when they do, they talk about it openly and calmly. I love them.

(I have blocked out Kurt/Holly almost entirely. I know it’s canon, but I still don’t believe it was anything other than a plot device to motivate some unnecessary drama in the TGW finale. God, that finale was bad. Ghost Will? Kurt cheating? GENEVA and Peter? GHOST WILL? Even the slap, which is one of my favorite parts, is more powerful as a symbol than as an actual plot development, since (1) Alicia betraying Diane is something Pilot!Alicia would’ve done to any friend to protect her family and (2) it stems from the nonsense about Kurt cheating and Peter tampering with evidence. What a letdown of a finale. The Kings are lucky they got to redeem themselves with TGF.)

(As anyone who’s had a one-on-one convo with me about the TGW finale at any point in the last three years will tell you, I will NEVER tire of discussing it, even if it means rehashing the same points over and over and over.)

I forgot about the thing where it wouldn’t stop storming in season 3.

Don’t have much to say about Kurt devising a plan to help Diane get out of trouble, but I do find it very fun!

OOOOH this is the episode about censorship that got censored!!! If you haven’t already, do read Emily Nussbaum’s piece about the behind-the-scenes drama of this episode. I thought the “this content has been censored” screen where the short would have been was a joke… but it was actually censored. That may be the most interesting thing about this episode.

I want more character-driven plots. I want more Liz and Lucca. I have nothing to say.

Book Club still believes the con artist who brought them together is something other than a con artist. Book Club is not that smart for being a collection of very smart people.

“So the whole group is bullshit?” Liz asks when Diane loops her in. Yes. But also, like, this is what happens when you do illegal shit with a group formed by a literal con artist. Liz may have an excuse for trusting the group (Diane brought her in), but why does DIANE trust them?

“My life is simple, Diane. I have a son. I have a mortgage. I have my job. And I go from home to work and work to home. So this stuff is, this bullshit intrigue… I’m done. Too much drama,” Liz laments, about a week too late. Where was this last week when Liz was like YES LET’S DO CRIMES?

One of my problems with the whole Book Club arc is that it makes very little sense that Liz would get involved in the first place. I understand why she would be sympathetic to their cause and willing to look the other way on their methods… if she were watching a news report about them on TV. She’s too practical, and has too much to lose, to get involved with a group like this.

An NSA nerd is back!! He’s the one warning Diane!

Okay, picking this back up in March 2020 because *gestures at the world* I have time. Like, I have so much free time I’ve finished 9 books in the last 14 days AND finally made it to the episodes of The Sopranos with JMargs. I began watching The Sopranos in 2017.

As I write this, I have no idea if TGF is coming back on April 9th as planned or not. Unless there’s something in the works for season 4 that can’t possibly be left unfinished or air today, I think they should air whatever they have now. TGF is always timely, and while scenes set in an office are suddenly feeling weird and implausible, they’ll probably play better now than in six months. And we’d all forgive the writers if they had to wrap up the arcs through an animated recap song.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the TGF credits so I rewound to watch the credits. I went to 2 minutes into the episode, then remembered… they’re 20 minutes in.

Y’all. They blow up a purse with hand sanitizer in it. Did they predict this?!

I wrote that preamble and then stopped writing. But now we know that TGF is really coming back on April 9th, which means I have to stop watching The Sopranos and write these things!

Ah, Felix Staples. I haven’t missed you!

Case stuff happens. Really riveting episode, this one. (It is an interesting case, though.)

Kurt saving Diane is pretty fun. But I don’t have anything to say about it and to write about it would just to be to give a half-assed play by play… and why?

Oh WOW, Lucca and Downton Abbey guy is still happening?!

Getting to see Kurt be really competent and caring is the best thing, by far, about the Book Club arc.

Wait, I take that back, Liz’s speech about voter suppression is also pretty high up there-- as long as you ignore the context.

V excited (!!) to get back to Maia’s bullshit in the next few episodes, not because I want to watch it but because if there’s one thing I’m actually motivated to write about, it’s how the show has handled Maia Rindell. Also, they handle the next few episodes well for her.

Oh RIGHT Liz tells ChumHum about her dad’s sexual harassment issues! And Adrian and Liz are finally going to tell the press! It may mean losing Neil Gross, though.

Book Club is over! Wooooooooooooooooooooo! On to more interesting things!!!

Also gone? Downton Abbey guy, who gave an interview about something new and exciting in his life. Lucca thought he was talking about her, and he was talking about some...personality test that sounds like a cult from the way he describes it? AAAAAND I Googled it and yup. It is. What a goofy ending to this arc I didn’t care about. Reminds me of the way the Marilyn arc ended (with a cameo from a celebrity who she was supposedly sleeping with). Glad the actor was so game to poke fun at himself, but is this the best we can do for Lucca?

Diane thinks she took care of the hack and made it go away. Kurt lets her take the credit.

The end!

#the good fight #is coming back soon!!!!#tgfthoughts #yes i still check this thing

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