It’s a Westmas Miracle! It’s my party, and I’ll blog if I want to. As I type this, the sun has set on my birthday, and I’m 44 year old now. Here’s hoping this is a better year, as 43 was mostly hot garbage. I might go into it at some point – after all, I do have a year-end recap post I should be posting sometime in the next 2 weeks. That time, however, isn’t now. Let’s just say I just got through a pretty grueling weekend, which caused my to miss my Friday post, and ended my two-year West Week Ever blogging streak. I was pretty proud of that streak, but some things are more important than rambling about Saturday Night Live, I suppose. Anyway, that missed post got me a bit off-track, as there are some things you need to know about before Christmas, and waiting til Friday would just be too late. I will be posting on Friday, Zordon willing, but this will have to hold ya til then.
I randomly binged the Netflix sitcom Tires, and I’m SO glad that I did. Created by comedians Shane Gillis, Steve Gerben, and John McKeever, Tires is a workplace comedy set at a low-performing branch of a tire chain. Gerben plays the branch manager – and son of the chain owner – who’s trying to prove to his father that he can be successful running the family business. Meanwhile, Gillis plays Gerben’s right hand guy, who clearly has a lot of potential, but seems to be afraid of failure. Now, here’s the part where I have to point out that non-comedy fans best know Gillis as The Guy Fired From SNL After Old Podcast Recordings Surfaced. Yeah, on his podcast with McKeever, Gilly & Keeves, they had done a few accents that weren’t exactly…politically correct. It was a whole thing, he was fired from SNL about a week after his hiring had been announced, but then it also sort of became the foundation of Bowen Yang’s SNL stint, as folks were constantly asking his opinion of Gillis’s seemingly anti-Asian jokes. Eventually, Yang would prove that he was funny, and the whole thing would just be a footnote of his time on SNL, but at that time, it was all anyone wanted to talk to him about. Anyway, from that situation, a lot of folks felt like they already knew who Gillis was, and it wasn’t positive. I, however, have always felt that he was playing a bit of a character, and just leaning into it. He took accountability for the situation, and he never really made excuses or tried to minimize what had happened. At the same time, however, folks who saw him as a “likeminded guy” joined his fan base, and he sort of because another “Free Speech” mascot to bandy about. The whole thing was messy. That said, I think he’s smarter, and a lot more savvy of a businessman than for which he gets credit. Around the time of SNL, he was opening for the same comics who are still on the road, while he’s selling out arenas. I’ve said, and maintain, that his SNL firing was the best thing that could have happened to his career, and Tires is another example of that.
Tires was a great example of “new media” at play, in that nobody asked for this show. It wasn’t commissioned by any network or studio, and the creators just sort of put it together so that it could be done “their” way. Afterwards, the intention was to shop it around, but they were also just fine throwing it up on YouTube for free. Netflix, however, did take notice, and purchased the show so that it wouldn’t go the self-distribution route. Since then, the streamer has renewed the show for a second and third season. I watched the self-produced first season, as well as the Netflix-sanctioned second season. I’m glad to say, for good or bad, there’s no discernable change in quality. They originally did a lot with a little, but they also didn’t seem to get much of a cash infusion from Netflix for S2. The guest stars are impressive, though, from Vince Vaughan to Thomas Haden Church. Meanwhile, a lot of the guest stars are recurring characters are from the stand-up world, and they mesh well with the clear loose improv structure of the show.
It’s a show that seems to have a narrative arc that’s heading somewhere. Sure, they could drag it out, but they could also wrap this thing up at three seasons. Similar to The Office, season 2 introduces the idea that the entire chain is struggling, so now the branches are competing with one another in order to see which shop will ultimately survive. Season 1 was comprised of a tight 6 episodes, while Season 2 got a 12 episode order. If Netflix sticks with 12, I think there could be an ending at the end of S3 – both due to the show’s pacing, and the fact that this is hardly Gillis’s highest career priority right now. The dude hosted the ESPYs! Anyway, I know it’s not gonna be for everyone, but I loved it, and I highly recommend folks check it out.
I also checked out the Allison Mack episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast. I had watched YouTube clips of his show every now and then, but he seemed to stick to “genre” stars, where they could commiserate over how their respective networks and studios kept lowballing them when it came to contract negotiations. Basically, his guest list seemed like he was lining folks up in the C2E2 green room. However, given all of the controversy surrounding Mack and the NXIVM cult, I figured this was the episode to check out. I’ll say, though, that I wasn’t sure he had the tools to handle something of this magnitude, but it seemed to put Mack at ease that they had worked together for so long.
It’s an interesting interview, but not a great interview. You find out that they weren’t necessarily that close during Smallville, so there’s a somewhat weak foundation that this whole thing is being built upon. I mean, there was mutual respect between the two, but they weren’t exactly the same age, so they weren’t just hanging out the way Mack would have been with Kristin Kreuk. Rosenbaum didn’t handle it like a “hard hitting journalist”, which was for the best, as that’s not what he is. He was patient and non-judgmental. I think he really provided a safe space for her. The weirdest part, however, is that she was basically promoting a different podcast, Uncover, which is the Canadian podcast series tackling her story, where they really dig deep into her involvement with NXIVM. What’s pretty much immediately apparent, however, is that Mack didn’t really have a relationship with Uncover, either. Instead of this being her own dedicated series, it’s basically season 35 of Canadian Serial, and they clearly just needed a “buzzworthy” topic to discuss. This all begins to reveal itself as a somewhat ham-fisted PR campaign meant to rehabilitate her image. I’m not sure if I want to dive into that one, but it would be interesting if she’s treated with as much respect there as she was on Rosenbaum’s show.
I’ll say this: I don’t know if she’s truly *sorry* for any of it. I mean, she’s been working through it in her own time, and maybe they go into more detail on Uncover, but she’s finally sort of settled into the “We were all victims” position. She feels bad for what she did in the sense that she can’t believe she was manipulated into doing it. It’s sort of like “We can’t be mad at Tommy because Rita made him and the Dragonzord destroy half of Angel Grove.” She repeated that she wasn’t allowed to do any real outreach to the victims, due to the circumstances of her release, but that seems to have created something of a feedback loop. Instead of being able to process what she was complicit in doing to others, she’s now focused on what NXIVM founder Keith Raniere did to her. As far as she’s concerned, she’s just as much a victim as those she tortured and abused alongside Raniere. I know it’s a much more nuanced situation than most of us can understand, but I don’t think this is the Allison that listeners are going to want to hear from.
Run The Numbers
We’ve got seven days, and I ain’t talking about the late 90s UPN sci fi series starring Jonathan LaPaglia. The stakes are just as high, though! I think I’m gonna make it. It’ll be tight, but I’m gonna make it.
Will Around The Web
I’ve been EVERYWHERE over the past 2 weeks!
First up, Adam and I were joined by our buddy Lee to discuss the 2001 Wizard X-Men Special. We tackled the X-Men roundtable, where Grant Morrison laid out their plans for New X-Men, and we also shared our history with the franchise. It’s a great listen, so check that out!
Then, on a brand new Remember That Show?, Adam and I took ya to Cleveland to meet Drew Carey and his pals. A lot of folks don’t realize the show lasted 9 years, so we had a LOT to talk about.
Next, I swung by Totally Rad Christmas, where Gerry had invited me to discuss a Christmas episode of 80s prime time soap opera Dynasty. This was my first full episode of Dynasty, so I had a lot of thoughts lol. The same way I can’t understand how our grandparents didn’t know Liberace was gay, I can’t believe no one realized a guy who had named himself “Rock Hudson” was overcompensating for something!
Finally, I joined the Mays – both Michael AND David – over on After Lunch to discuss 2007’s This Christmas. I had always sort of written it off as “That movie with Chris Brown”, which was quite the deterrent after 2009, but there’s actually a really entertaining holiday film in there. We had a great discussion about some of the underlying cultural aspects that really helped to bolster certain parts of the film.
Since two of these offerings are Christmas episodes, you’d better fire up you podcatcher and listen in the next 24 hours!
Things You Might Have Missed Last Week
- Not to be left out of the streamers making headlines, YouTube has acquired the rights to the Academy Awards broadcast beginning in 2029.
- The Last Frontier was canceled after one season on Apple TV. Now, I dare anyone to prove to me that’s the name of an actual show that existed, as I’m starting think these streamers are gaslighting us!
- Unsuspecting Black Man Dan Bongino has announced he will be stepping down as Deputy Director of the FBI n January.
- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been unanimously renamed to The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy FanDuel Center for the Performing Arts Pepsi Challenge Brought To You By Foxwoods Casino.
- Despite the fact that the box office failure of Snow White had reportedly shelved plans for a live action Tangled, it seems Disney changed its mind, as screen tests have begun in England. Freya Skye, Teagan Croft, and Milo Manheim are names circling the production.
- Sony has taken control of the Peanuts franchise, buying a majority stake from Canadian company Wildbrain for $457 million. This is when folks start complaining about Sony “gatekeeping” the Charlie Brown specials, while I’m over here wondering why you haven’t bought those things already on some form of physical media. It’s 2025! Snoopy ain’t airing before Kate & Allie anymore! Adjust accordingly!
- Speaking of strange bedfellows, Archie Comics is entering into a partnership with Oni Press to modernize and reboot the Archie brand. Again. Like, Mark Waid did this a decade ago. If Oni Press is your “lifeline”, then you’ve already lost. I love that publisher, but their last “smash hit” was Scott Pilgrim, which released its last volume 15 years ago. Otherwise, they’ve kept the lights on by selling licensed Rick & Morty comics. Thank God they’re ending that series before Rick gets a chance to meet Betty and Veronica!
No winners or losers here, so come back Friday for that. In the meantime, I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas/Thursday/Kwanzaa Eve/*insert newfangled day I’ve yet to hear about*. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see ya Friday.