https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brkZIIwZvqM The L Word took Showtime by storm in 2004. Sadly, like all good things, it came to end in 2009. However, like a fine wine, it is back tonight at 10p, and it has aged very well.
Generation Q includes the shows original stars Jennifer Beal, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey. A lot has happened to them in the last 10 years and they have grown up.
Bette (Beals) is raising a daughter and she is running to be mayor of Los Angeles. She meets with Dani Núñez (Arienne Mandi), an exec who can Bette money for her campaign. When Bette does not like what she stands for, she opts not to work with her.
Sophie (Rosanny Zayas) does not reject Dani because the two of them are dating, and things are getting serious between the two ladies. Sophie works for Alice (Hailey), who is now a television star. Alice has found love with Nat (Stephanie Allynne), a woman with two children.
Shane is back from Paris, is she ready to date every available woman in LA again? Not if Finley (Jacqueline Toboni) can have her way. Finley is a younger version of Shane, which is why she idolizes her so much.
Unlike the first time around, where it was about friendship, partying and dating, this time, it is about friendship and settling down. Maybe it is because I have grown up a lot in the last decade, but I prefer this version of the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAnJJHrq0Ws The Loudest Voice is the story of Roger Ailes (Russell Crowe), but it could just as easily be Donald Trump’s story too. If you swap out Fox News Channel for his real estate business. Now that we got that out of the way, here is more about the series that debuts on Showtime tonight at 10p.
The series starts off with Ailes getting fired from CNBC and eventually getting hired by Rupert Murdoch to run his new news channel. Ailes needs to build up his network and get it ready to launch. He does not want it to be like CNN or the just-launched MSNBC. The latter was supposed to be groundbreaking because it was incorporating the internet into its broadcast.
When they went left, he went right. He was going to do what he wants with the channel no matter what anyone else says. He was going to scream, yell and fire anyone he wants. Even when the network wasn’t ready to launch, he was going to launch it anyway. And that is where the first episode ends.
Then they skip ahead five years to 9/11 for episode two. Ailes fed into everyone’s fear. He wanted to make sure everyone knew this was a terrorist attack, whether it was or wasn’t. He was going to do all he could to scare his viewers. He knew that would make them watch. He was even going to try to influence President Bush to say what he wanted. When the anthrax scare hit close to FNC, he was going to make it a bigger deal than it really was. More of the fear mongering we know his network for being. When 9/11 was not dominating as much, he like, everyone else moves on.
For episode three, Barack Hussein Obama is running for president. Ailes is doing everything he can to make the future president seems like a Muslim terrorist. As in using his middle name as possible. He is asked to calm it down, but he is not going to do. Eventually, Washington tries to step in, but he is not going to listen. Not even to his boss. Eventually, he loses when Obama wins. But for how long?
Since we only got three episodes to review, we don’t know how much further they go into the sexual harassment aspect of his life. We see glimpses of it but not a whole lot of it to know how big a part of it. I am sure as the series goes on, we will know much much more.
As someone, who worked in network news, I was expecting another Newsroom. This is not a show about news. It is a show about a newsman. Therefore, I had to separate myself from expecting accuracy in news, which is not even close to reality. That I can forgive because it is not the story they are telling. However, I cannot forgive them for what they did to two of my former co-workers from my Miami day. Louis Aguirre was the first anchor to talk on Fox News, yet you do not hear him mention his name. In the second episode, we see Shepard Smith, but they cast some ugly guy (no offense) to play him. I mean Shep has been there before day one and he is still there today. I think we all know what he looks like. They should have just used him because he has not aged a day since 1996.
Now that I have vented about that, Crowe is phenomenal as Ailes. He is unrecognizable as the “fake news”man. He should win the Emmy next year. Although, I wish he would have channeled some of his past anger when he portrayed Ailes in some scenes. Not all network news bosses are screamers, but the ones that are, leave a mark on you that never goes away. Thankfully, I was not subject to their abuse, but I witnessed it a few times in the newsroom and I will never forget it. It is that shocking and terrifying.
When it comes to Trump and Ailes, there so many similarities in their playbooks that they could be the same person. Playing on people’s fear and focusing only on that. It is for that reason I highly suggest watching. There is a method to their madness. A madness I hope that died with Ailes and will die with Trump.
In short, this is not the story of Fox News, it is the story of the man behind it. A very scary man who thought his sh!t didn’t stink. We all know it does. Worse than anything else, you have ever smelled before. Something the series does not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzwU7dbmAyY
Jim Carrey returns to TV tonight at 10p in Kidding and you not going to want to miss this Showtime dramedy.
Jeff Piccirillo (Jim Carrey) is a Mr. Rogers like television host called Mr. Pickles. For 30 years, he has brought happiness to children all over the country. Like his character, he lives an innocent existence. But it cannot keep him away from heartache.
His son recently Phil died in a car accident, Phil’s twin Will (Cole Allen) survived, so did his mother who was driving. On that day, a big piece of the Piccirillo family died with Phil.
Jill (Judy Greer) is dealing with his death like any grieving mother would and she kicked her husband out of the house. Their son is rebelling against everything and only sees his dad once a week. Jeff handles it as best he can, but someone like him does not comprehend the situation like you and I would. He is one of those people who truly sees the world through rose-colored glasses.
Jeff decides he wants to do an episode all about his death, but his father, who is also the executive producer of the show, won’t let him do it. He feels the topic is too grim or the young viewers of the show. As Jeff dwells further into depression, his father plots on how to replace his son on the show. His dad sees dollar signs over his son’s feelings.
Jeff’s sister, Deirdre (Catherine Keener), who also works on Mr. Pickles, does everything she can to save his job. But she has other problems to deal with in her life that are about her husband and their daughter who is acting out.
Kidding is a hard show to describe, but it is one that you will love because it is special in its own way.
When I first moved to LA, the first celebrity I interviewed that I saw who had “it” was Jim Carrey. There is something special about him and he touches you in a way other celebrities do not. While most people love him for his comedy, I prefer his dramatic work. To me, The Majestic is my favorite movie of his and this show reminds me a lot of that film. There is a sweetness and an innocence that only Jim Carrey can bring to a role like this.
It is his presence that makes Kidding the surprisingly enjoyable show of the fall. Tune in every Sunday at 10p for a show that is not like anything else on TV.
Sacha Baron Cohen is back on TV with his first show in over 15 years and it is going to have a ripple effect in DC. The premiere episode of Who Is America starts out with a bang on Showtime tonight at 10p (it is available to stream and OnDemand now) as in people on the right promoting arming toddlers with guns. I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. They can complain all they want how they were taken advantage of, but they all could have said no. They did not have a gun to their heads, pun intended.
Before we get to the shocking, disgusting and sickening segment above. There were a few others. Cohen is an equal opportunity guy, so he starts off the series with Bernie Sanders. Next, he talks to a Republican Rep and her emasculated husband. The third segment features an interview with an art gallery owner that does not fit in with the show. But it is the much-needed calm before the final segment.
That segment is the one above where he talks to gun advocates, gun lobbyists and current and former Congressman about arming babies, toddlers and kids with guns. You would think no would be stupid enough to promote it, but you can see them salivating at the idea of it. Are those the people you want representing you?
I mean who would even think it is a good idea to put a gun in a stuffed animal and show a 4-year-old how to use it? Philip Van Cleave does and even shot an instructional video with Cohen. Lobbyist Larry Pratt loves the idea. He actually laughed out loud when Cohen made a joke that is not rape if you are married.
Finally, he talks to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson and radio host Joe Walsh about it and even gets them to go on camera supporting it while Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz would not. How can anyone ever elect Rohrabacher and Wilson again after watching this? I know their supporters love their guns more than their family and Gd, but they should have some common sense that this is beyond idiotic. I hope and pray we are better than that.
Anyways, while I am not a fan of Cohen’s, I hope he continues to bring down these imbeciles. He goes after the absurd and proves how ridiculous they are. You do not think that any of this is possible, but sadly it is. I am happy he exposing them! Whether they like it or not. It is not his fault that they are dumber than dumb and does what he asked him them to do.
It has been over 10 years since Sacha Baron Cohen has one of his undercover camera shows on the air, but that is all going to change this Sunday at 10p. After some hints over the last week, that something was in the works, Showtime finally confirmed it today.
Not much is known about the interview series, but the 7 episodes have been in production for the last year. David Nevins, President and CEO of Showtime Networks Inc. described it as, “He is the premier provocateur of our time, but not for the sake of ‘gotcha’ moments. Behind the elaborate setup is a genuine quest for the truth about people, places and politics. Nobody knows how to cause a stir like Sacha Baron Cohen, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch what happens when WHO IS AMERICA? is released on the world.”
Cohen interviews everyone from famous politicians to the average Joe to talk about politics. What he finds out will more than definitely get people talking!
