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Post by guttersnipe on Nov 8, 2020 10:23:15 GMT -8
Indeed. I was initially disappointed that Sanders took himself out of the running, but I now view it as a shrewd move in such divisive times. I'm just not sure if it was because he is Jewish or because he's a socialist; I suspect a little from column A, a little from column B. Our Sanders-approved far-leftist did run this time last year and got regularly crucified in the media, and even now.
At the same time, I was slightly worried that the Biden-Harris team were playing it softly to the point of utter blandness, as evinced by a video I saw the other day on which some cute kids explain how to pronounce Kamala ("It's not Kuh-MAH-luh"). As it turns out, I loved Biden's words last night but not the presentation. Ain't nobody electrified by Coldplay.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 8, 2020 11:54:30 GMT -8
Indeed. I was initially disappointed that Sanders took himself out of the running, but I now view it as a shrewd move in such divisive times. I'm just not sure if it was because he is Jewish or because he's a socialist; I suspect a little from column A, a little from column B. There are very few political statements I make with complete certainty. However, I can say with complete certainty that it was nothing from column A and everything from column B. (Without getting too deep into it, Sanders was endorsed by some members of Congress who are, shall we say, not exactly popular among Jewish people. The guy has done more to distance himself from the faith than Drake and ScarJo combined.)
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Post by guttersnipe on Nov 8, 2020 16:57:40 GMT -8
Ah right, I wasn't aware of the kind of company he kept. Still, even if he's non-practicising, are the more belligerent red-hatters going to warm to ethnic minorities of any stripe, especially ones whose denigration is well-ingrained into WASP society?
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 8, 2020 18:51:26 GMT -8
Oh, there are definitely Americans who are turned off by a Jewish candidate, particularly in the deep Christian pockets of the Bible Belt. Still, I don't think that would be a decisive factor in a Bernie candidacy, since (1) most of those people and states aren't likely to swing Democrat in any event, and (2) no one could ever mistake Trump for a man of deep faith; his popularity among rural conservatives grew less from religion than from a declining working-class. In fairness, I think Bernie would have some crossover appeal with disaffected blue-collar types (many of whom voted for Obama twice before flipping to Trump), but he would almost certainly scare away more upscale suburban voters, who prove pivotal in most elections.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Nov 9, 2020 10:12:29 GMT -8
Oh, there are definitely Americans who are turned off by a Jewish candidate, particularly in the deep Christian pockets of the Bible Belt. Still, I don't think that would be a decisive factor in a Bernie candidacy, since (1) most of those people and states aren't likely to swing Democrat in any event, and (2) no one could ever mistake Trump for a man of deep faith; his popularity among rural conservatives grew less from religion than from a declining working-class. I'd add that a candidate's personal faith (or lack thereof) seems less important for evangelicals than their stances on abortion, which is why so many Bible belt types spurned Biden the lifelong Catholic for a man who is, for all intents and purposes, an atheist.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 13, 2020 11:13:27 GMT -8
Today I write about Teenage Bounty Hunters, a smart and funny show that was sadly cancelled by Netflix after one season. Hopefully this article will convince some other network exec to revive it! (Okay, I'm not that hopeful but it was fun writing about the show anyway.)
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 19, 2020 9:36:02 GMT -8
Before the new Animaniacs premieres, here's a look back at the original series. It's tough to pick ten defining episodes from one of the best animated shows ever, but I did my best. You'll note that the piece is generally Season one-heavy, with good reason, as (1) the first season was the show's best, and (2) due to a variety of factors, it was twice as long as the subsequent four seasons combined.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Nov 19, 2020 11:37:50 GMT -8
You'll note that the piece is generally Season one-heavy, with good reason, as (1) the first season was the show's best, and (2) due to a variety of factors, it was twice as long as the subsequent four seasons combined. Yeah, what the heck is up with animated shows and lopsided episode orders?
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 19, 2020 12:27:26 GMT -8
The model dates back to the 1980s. When it came to kids' animation, networks primarily cared about syndicated reruns, and 65 episodes was determined to be the magic number. (You could air the show five days a week, and could go three months without repeating an episode.) Once a show made 65 episodes (typically in one season), it was effectively cancelled, and the episodes were bundled up and sold to local networks for syndication.
Animaniacs was originally meant to follow this model - Fox Kids ordered 65 episodes up front, and did not pick it up for another season. Due to the show's outsized popularity, a second "season" was retroactively picked up, consisting of only four episodes made of leftover material that went unused in Season One. (This is why those S2 episodes feel so fragmented, with heavy reliance on brief segments like Good Idea/Bad Idea.) Also included in this season was "I'm Mad," which wasn't intended for TV in the first place - it was produced as a theatrical short for Thumbelina.
In 1995, Kids! WB was born, and scooped up the rights to Animaniacs (along with a slew of other animated WB properties). They commissioned a third season of 13 new episodes, standard for follow-up seasons. But then things got dicey. Kids! WB ordered 20 episodes of a fourth season, but due to issues with the advertisers (who were unhappy with the low share of young viewers), only 8 were produced. This trend continued into Season Five, which produced only 9 episodes, aired sporadically through the year as Pinky and the Brain began receiving much more attention. Two of these Season Five episodes aired as a one-hour special - "Hooray For North Hollywood," perhaps the worst episode in Animaniacs history.
The 65-epsiode trend has largely faded in recent years, but it was the dominant model of children's programming for a long time.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 4, 2020 9:56:13 GMT -8
This is probably my last "thinkpiece" of 2020 - unless the muse strikes me, everything after this will be End of the Year lists. And rather than write another cynical diatribe about the different types of awfulness that have befouled the world in recent months, I decided to write an uplifting piece on The Queen's Gambit.Perhaps I'm growing soft in my old age. Anyways, enjoy.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 29, 2020 7:57:43 GMT -8
And to cap off the year, here are my top 10 TV shows of 2020. You may note that there are more comedies than usual this time around. This is partly because TV comedies have in recent years grown more inventive than TV dramas... but also because I really appreciated the laughs this year, maybe a little more so than usual.
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Post by Jeremy on Feb 26, 2021 12:34:13 GMT -8
My first TV blog article of 2021, focusing on The Muppet Show. I've been looking for an excuse to write about this series for many years now, and the fact that it's now available to stream finally gave me the motivation. I am proud to say that the show holds up quite well, even if Disney has put a handful of "content warnings" on certain episodes claiming otherwise.
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Post by Jay on Feb 26, 2021 13:02:06 GMT -8
This is as good a time and occasion as any to mention that I've had "Manamanah" stuck in my head for a week plus
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Post by Jeremy on Feb 26, 2021 14:17:57 GMT -8
The very first sketch from the very first episode! Talk about opening with a bang.
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 5, 2021 13:55:42 GMT -8
WandaVision just concluded its first season, so I wrote a spoiler-free piece about the show and how it heralds a yet-unseen direction for the MCU.(For those wondering, I liked the series, though didn't much care for the finale. May write more about that when I have time.)
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