This is the time of year that I typically do my network TV upfronts post, but I skipped it this year, as I haven’t seen a single thing that excites me about the upcoming TV season. There are very few scripted shows on the way, and there are a lot of reboots and rehashes. For example, Zach Braff officially signed on for the Scrubs revival this week. This isn’t what America needs right now! But this didn’t happen overnight. I often think how it was just 7 years ago that a CBS show had a 2-season run where the protagonist thought God had friended him on Facebook. Now, sure, one could say it was equal doses of Highway To Heaven and Touched By An Angel – 2 shows that had enjoyed successful runs in their day, but TV – and the world – has changed a lot since then. Not only have we grown too cynical to “appreciate” such a concept since then, but I also didn’t love how a pervasive, insidious corporation was central to the plot. They didn’t do the typical TV show thing, where they created their own social media site, like “MyBook” or “Facester”. It’s the gin-yoo-wine Zuckerberg article, and there are all sorts of things wrong with that. Anyway, today’s TV execs don’t seem to know, or maybe even care, what the audience wants, and they’re just looking to make the most money they can by spending the least. So get ready for the Royal Pains revival, which I hope Universal is now reconsidering, given how Suits LA crashed and burned…
Not all TV is bad, however. Just that on the networks. There’s good stuff on streaming, but even half of those should be movies instead of shows. For example, Lindsay and I watched The Four Seasons on Netflix, which is based on an Alan Alda film I’ve never seen. It features a star-studded comedic cast, with Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Colman Domingo, and focuses on 3 middle-aged couples who regularly vacation together. Must be nice, right? I looked over at Lindsay, and I was like “We don’t have friends like these. Is it normal to have friends like these?” They clearly aren’t worried about money! In any case, the series follows the couples through a particular year, beginning in the Spring, when Carell and Kenney-Silver are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary – which happens to coincide with Carell deciding to leave her.
So, the rest of the series drops in on the couples through the remaining seasons of the year, as we get background on their pasts together, as well as get a glimpse into their lives and relationship issues. They feel they’re watching their friend “blow up” his life, but have a hard time grasping the fact that he appears to be genuinely happy – certainly happier than they are, in their lives. I felt like everyone brought their A-game here, especially Forte and Carell. I really felt for Forte’s character, while Carell just exudes DADDY. I’m a straight man, but if you’d told me in 2005 that Michael Scott would grow up to be a sexy 62-year old man, I’d have had you committed. Like I always say, there was probably more of a movie here than a show (something Alda had already figured out), but I did enjoy getting to spend extended time with these characters, so I’ll allow it. It could easily have been a one and done, but Hollywood doesn’t know how to let a good thing rest on its own, so it has been renewed for a second season.
Next up, we watched Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary on MAX, which I’d been wanting to see since it was announced. I actually remember watching the Channel 101 Yacht Rock webseries when it debuted, and that was Early Internet Video. I didn’t know all the major players back when I was watching it, but everyone knew Michael McDonald, so I guess I was watching for his scenes. Anyway, I never realized that those guys were the ones who had coined the phrase “yacht rock”. I had assumed they’d heard it used in some kind of music zine, and maybe they were the ones who popularized it. But, no – we call it that because they dubbed it that. It certainly wasn’t called that when it was being made. This was the beginning of what would be known as Soft Rock, and then morph into Adult Contemporary. It was called “yacht rock” because they felt the music “sounded like a million dollars”. Since someone with a million dollars would likely buy a yacht, it was something of a thru-line to that. The music was infused with jazz, but it removed the funk, resulting in a smoother sound. The jazz undertone is important, though, because it’s required for an act to be considered “yacht rock”. For example, Hall & Oates are not considered because there was still too much funk in their music. The Eagles aren’t because they were more rock-influenced. The movement itself can be traced back to Steely Dan, which was an act I didn’t really know much about. They sort of showed what was capable with music, focusing more on theory than lyrics. Even their producers would say they never really thought much of the lyrics, as you were really there for the sound. In fact, their 1977 album Aja became popular as the album stereo salesmen would use to demonstrate the power of hifi systems. I remember when folks were trying to show how great home theaters were, they’d put in T2, and go “You hear how powerful that sounds?!”
Anyway, Steely Dan inspired a lot of LA-area session musicians, and these folks would go on and experiment with that sound. This would spread to the Doobie Brothers, but it would also resonate with the Porcaro brothers. They’d had a band in high school, and had gone on to be session musicians for all of the hottest acts. Noticing the change in the scene, they reformed that high school band, and would become the band Toto. Everyone knew everyone, so new acts were constantly debuting. There was a young songwriter, named Chris Geppert, who had bought all of his equipment from the money he’d made as a fairly successful weed dealer. Nowadays, though, you’ll know him best as “Christopher Cross”, and he was the first artist in Grammy history to win Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist in the same year (1980). In fact, this record wouldn’t be matched until Billie Eilish, 39 years later, in 2020.
The thing the documentary dances around, yet I feel is core to the Yacht Rock movement, is that it was incredibly catchy music being made by some unattractive men. These were not heartthrobs. There’s a clip of the original lead singer of Toto, where he looks like he got onstage after a long day of selling used cars. 1977 cars! Christopher Cross gave off neckbeard vibes. If he was in the modern era, he’d have a YouTube channel where he talks to porn stars and/or experts in the paranormal. And the look would be everyone’s downfall once MTV hit the scene. One of the talking heads points out that you didn’t have to be attractive in the music video age, but you still needed to have a “look”. He points out that Phil Collins wasn’t a looker, but he still had an image. And a lot of the Yacht Rockers just didn’t want to play ball. Some said they signed up to play music, not to act, so the whole music video thing quickly left them behind. Suddenly, the vibe that had made them popular was seen as corny and antiquated. They weren’t innovating as quickly as the pop newcomers, like Michael Jackson (despite the fact that many of the yacht rock guys were session musicians on Thriller!). The ones who weathered the storm, like Kenny Loggins, pivoted to making music for movie soundtracks.
Anyway, I’ve said enough. If you care about that scene, and the music that it produced, you should definitely check out this documentary.
Trailer Park
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball (Hulu, Coming Soon)
I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was to see this when it dropped this week. For anyone not familiar, The Amazing World of Gumball had a really weird cliffhanger of a finale back in 2019, and we were eventually told that there would be a movie to wrap things up – most likely on HBO Max, since they were still drumming up content for the streamer. Then David Zaslav happened. So, a lot of projects in development were outright killed or folks simply stopped talking about them (Looking at you, Teen Titans Go: The Night Begins To Shine!) And the Gumball movie was one of those projects. Then, there were talks of a “spinoff”, but no one knew what that meant. Finally, it was confirmed that the spinoff would just be the seventh season of the original series. I learned all of that this week, as these announcements were made at some animation festival, and who reports on those? It sure as Hell ain’t Deadline!
Anyway, Gumball is one of those shows that initially pushed me away, as I hate things that are weird for the sake of being weird. Elmore is a hard town to wrap your head around, and it takes time to learn the “rules” of that world. That said, it eventually became one of my favorite shows of all time. I think the episode “The Choices” is one of the best episodes of anything ever made. I raised my kids on Gumball, and they came to love Darwin and Anais. So, I’m very happy to have my old friend back!
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, June 20)
Believe it or not, I discovered this trailer this morning, and I love EVERYTHING about it. It’s basically all of my favorite parts of Turning Red. No notes!
Will Around The Web
Episode #34 of Remember That Show? dropped this week, where Adam and I discussed the short-lived 80s sitcom Double Trouble. In case you didn’t catch it from the title, it’s about twins.
Run The Numbers
Another week has passed without me reading a book without pictures in it. Oh, well. We knew what we were signing up for here. Anyway, in the world of comics, I read Exquisite Corpses #1, by James Tynion IV. Now, first things first: What’s it gonna take for us to finally admit that Tynion ain’t writing all these books?! He has a new series debut roughly every 3 weeks, and no one is that prolific. I assume he’s just coked up and never sleeps. I mean, all of his books have a “dark mistrust” as their baseline, so I guess I’d rather he make comics than start up one of those skeptic radio shows that you can only pick up in the desert. So, there was a pretty big marketing campaign for this one, with buttons and stickers and posters. If you’re curious about any of that, I made a video over on my TikTok.
Published by Image Comics, the series follows the idea that none of the people in power are actually in power. They’re figureheads, meant to keep the masses content, while the actual powerful folks work in the shadows. So, there’s an organization, called The 13, comprised of the most powerful family from each of the 13 original colonies. These families, over time, have become the richest and most powerful people in the country, and they are making all of the decisions. In order to decide whose turn it is to wield that power, the families hold an annual contest: Each family draws a card, featuring a weapon. Then, they have a year to find a skilled killer who can wield the weapon depicted on the card drawn. Each year, on Halloween night, they basically pay off the politicians of a small town, so that they can use that town as their battleground. The town is cut off from the rest of the world, as communication has been cut off and roads have been closed. Then, the families drop their players into the battlefield for a deathmatch that goes on all night. The family whose fighter ends up victorious gets to rule the country until the next tournament. Oh, and the townspeople aren’t told about this, nor are they evacuated. So, they’re also getting killed, as “collateral damage”.
The representatives of the familiar are all familiar and tropey. The NY/NJ guys are clearly Trump’s sons, while we’ve also got the bitchy upper crust Karen (think Archer‘s mom), and the South Carolinian blueblood equestrian. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an all-white affair, as Georgia was represented by a black family. Meanwhile, the families’ chosen killers are all wackadoos with WWE-esque gimmicks. There’s the serial killer who murders people while wearing a bunny suit. There’s the gamer kid who murders people with his drone. While we’re meeting the players and the families, one of the representatives is still trying to court her family’s player. You’ve seen this one a thousand times: built, former military guy, living in a remote cabin, minding his business until a chopper touches down in front of said cabin. Out comes a stranger, with a proposition that he refuses…until he doesn’t. Like I said, it’s all pretty familiar, but I’m still engaged, and the art, by Michael Walsh is, well, exquisite! I normally trade-wait these miniseries, but I might have to stick with this one monthly.
Meanwhile, I read the IDW original graphic novel The Sin Bin, which was just released this week. Despite being an OGN, it’s broken up by chapters in a way that makes me think it was written as a miniseries, and they pivoted to a collected edition instead. In hockey terms, the “sin bin” is another name for the penalty box, which is pretty important in this story. We’re introduced to Cat Duquesne, a teenage girl who’s been moving town to town, as her father is a minor league hockey player who keeps getting traded. While he once had a promising career, he seems to have settled into a role where teams are using him as a “jobber” to develop their stars. Cat really wants him to get called up to “the show”, and wants him to play using his head as opposed to being the goon that the minors want him to be. Since she’s constantly moving, Cat doesn’t really have any friends, nor much to call her own. One night, however, Cat discovers that her father is also moonlighting as a monster hunter. He has some sort of mystical sword, which is hidden in his hockey stick, and he uses that to vanquish the demons. Once defeated, he puts them in a box-shaped trap, and realizes that Cat witnessed the whole thing. He eventually has to explain to her what he’s been doing, and that he doesn’t really know what happens to the monsters when they go in the box. So, Cat takes to calling it a “sin bin”. They begin to realize they’re currently living near a nest of monsters, and father & daughter team up to solve the mystery.
This was a cute story, and I actually really liked it. The pacing was weird, though, leading me to wonder if it was always meant to be an OGN. It felt like a longer story that might have had the middle cut out of it, and also rushed to its ending. You’re never really satisfied with the explanation that “Duke” gives Cat, and you also wonder how long he’s been doing this. Later, you realize it’s been years that he’s been hunting monsters, but you still don’t learn HOW it started, nor WHY. Once Cat learns the truth, you could theoretically have a couple more story arcs before getting to what is essentially the “main” arc of this one. And the ending sets up a new status quo, which could have led to more adventures, but it feels like the creators (Robbie Thompson & Patricio Delpeche) opted to put a bow on things rather than leave the story open for future tales.
The oddest part to me, however, is that the Duquesnes are black. So, you’ve got a black pro hockey player, and his black daughter, who also plays hockey. Now, I tend to gravitate to these sort of stories because of the representation aspect. I’ve said in the past that I never really looked for representation in my media growing up, but I guess I also never considered it was a possibility. My oldest has shown an affinity for graphic novels, so this is the sort of thing that would be the next step from the Raina Scholastic books. So, I see a black kid on the cover, I grab it. But nothing about them felt black. Now, I know that’s dicey, as I’ll be the first to tell you that there’s no one way to be black. That said, the only black thing about them is their skin. Not the vernacular, not the character traits. I know Thompson isn’t black, but did he have a black friend he could have run it by? When the mom is mentioned, we know she’s Latina because they pepper things into her speech, like “Corazón”. With Duke and Cat, however, it almost feels like the publisher sent back notes saying, “Robbie, baby – We LOVE the hockey angle. LOVE IT! But could Duke and Cat, maybe, be black? Black is SO in right now. Won’t be in a few months, but right now? SO IN!” Now, I’ll admit that the character designs are black. It’s not like the “chocolated up” a white character design, but they don’t feel black. It’s hard to explain. Anyway, I think it does what it needs to for its YA audience, and I’d still recommend it to anyone looking for a graphic novel for the tween in their life.
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- Sesame Street was “saved” by Netflix this week, after the end of its partnership with Warner Bros Discovery, and funding cuts from Uncle Sam. This is the world some of y’all willingly chose. Anyway, under the new deal, PBS viewers won’t have to wait to get new episodes, as they will premiere there and on Netflix on the same day.
- Somebody needs to get a handle on Shemar Moore, as he has a tendency to run his mouth. Immediately following the series finale of the oft-canceled S.W.A.T., it was announced that Moore would be starring in a spinoff series, S.W.A.T. EXILES, where he trains a ragtag group of ne’er-do-wells to be expert S.W.A.T. members. Sorta like Baywatch Hawai’i, where Mitch Buchanan was gonna open a “top flight” lifeguarding school. Anyway, Moore hopped on Instagram to refer to himself as the “Tom Brady of S.W.A.T.” and that no one should begrudge him doing the spinoff without the rest of his S.W.A.T. castmates, as he had “earned this after 31 years of hard work.” Anyway, S.W.A.T. EXILES doesn’t yet have a distribution deal with any US network or streamer, so this might just end up being for international markets.
- Jessica Biel is set to produce a 7th Heaven reboot, which would focus on a new, “diverse family”. You know Beverly Mitchell, David Gallagher, and Mackenzie Rossman saw that headline and were like “We can finally stop doing this frickin’ podcast!”, only to read the article and discover it’s a brand new cast. Well, back to shilling for BetterHelp, I guess.
- Remember Mike Richards? The Jeopardy! producer who gave himself the hosting job, which lasted less than a week? Well, he has just joined up with Ben Shapiro to be president of Daily Wire. “I’ll take ‘Douchebags’, for $1,000, Ken!”
- Conan O’Brien reportedly has a role in Toy Story 5. I hope he’s the guy who pops in to say “Why are you still making these? That’s not even Tom Hanks anymore! It’s a Filipino guy, like what Journey did!”
- It looks like we’re getting closer to the release of Taylor Swift’s Reputation (Taylor’s Version), as the new version of “Look What You Made Me Do” debuted on last week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale.
- Look out, health nuts, ’cause Pepsi just bought Poppi! I feel like Letterman, during that “Uma, Oprah” debacle. Why did people think that was funny? It was uncomfortable, but not funny. Anyway, Pepsi acquired the “healthy soda” brand in a deal reportedly worth $1.65 billion.
- Both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars have been moved from May to December during their respective release years. Currently, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is reported to be taking over the Doomsday release slot. And why didn’t they call it The Devil Still Wears Prada? Do I have to do everything?!
- Finally, let’s pour one out for Norm. Cheers actor George Wendt (and uncle of Jason Sudeikis – I feel like folks have been tripping over themselves this week to let you know they know that trivia) passed away this week at the age of 76.
See, THIS is what it’s all about. I am constantly on here, talking about “community”, and I think folks think that’s not genuine coming from me. I know there are people who will swear up and down that “Online isn’t real life”, but it is to me. The guy you get here? Pretty much the same in real life. Honestly, I think I’m nicer in real life, but I’m probably not the best judge of that. Still, this means that folks aren’t just strangers behind a keyboard to me. They’re living, breathing people, and that’s who I want to get to know. I know not everyone wants to be so exposed online, but for the ones who can handle it, I love ya.
That’s why it meant so much to me when my buddy Tom, and his wife Alana, came all the way from Australia, yet made sure that we got to hang out while they were here. He had told me about the trip some time ago, as I know there was also a music festival as part of their itinerary. For some reason, I thought that festival was in NYC, but it’s the same coast, and I was willing to make that trip. He came from another country. The least I could do is weather the New Jersey Turnpike! Later, I found out it was actually in Baltimore. Oh, HELL YEAH!
Let’s roll things back a bit, though. Growing up, my best friend didn’t live too far from me. So, lots of weekend hangouts and sleepovers. The whole thing we all did back then. When we bought our house, about 7 years ago, it happened to be right across a major road from his parents’ house. They’re still there. I guess he still visits. Years ago, he lived in Chicago, and would come home for holidays. But it was always “Sorry I didn’t get to see you! The trip was just so quick.” I understood. In the beginning. Then, it just kept happening. Eventually, I had to take the hint. I haven’t seen that motherfucker in over a decade. Still run into his mom and sister, though. My point is that it takes effort to connect with people, and Tom and Alana could have easily said “We’d rather spend our time exploring beautiful, picturesque Baltimore. As seen on The Wire!” But they didn’t do that. We checked in throughout their time in the states, and when they got to Baltimore, we made a plan.
So, yesterday, I met up with them and we had brunch at Blue Moon Cafe, Too. It seems to be pretty popular in the city, and it’s basically what you’d get if the founder of Spencer’s Gifts really wanted to get into the restaurant industry. Then, we braved the rain, and hit up a quaint little used bookstore we stumbled upon. Tom had shown interest in going to a comic shop, and I had one in mind. But it would have just been “fine”. No, they came all this way, I wanted them to see the best we had to offer. So, I took them to Third Eye Comics, in Annapolis, next to Third Eye Music and Video, and Third Eye Games – 3 things that Tom loves. So, we spent the afternoon shopping and talking. There was never a dull moment. No lull in conversation. And this is probably because Tom and I have been friends for years. I’ve even been on his podcast. It’s just not all seen on a social media timeline, so folks wouldn’t realize it. However, thanks to the time difference, we tend to keep the same hours, and have the same interests. I can say that Tom is one of the best friends I’ve made online, and it was wonderful to meet him and Alana and spend the afternoon with them.
I know folks are shy and introverted. So am I, believe it or not. But if you set up your relationships like “No, this is just an online thing”, you could really be missing out. I mean, this could be us, but you playin’. Anyway, my pals from Down Under, Tom and Alana, had the West Week Ever.
