Tag Archives: Will & Grace

May 5, 2020

Will & Grace

Sunday night I watched the last episodes of Will & Grace, a comedy that first premiered on NBC in 1998. It enjoyed eight seasons, ending in 2006. Then, eleven years later, in 2017, the original creators and actors rebooted it in what turned out to be a three season run. (Eleven year gap; eleven seasons total. Cute.)

The show was quite popular during its first six seasons, but experienced a pronounced drop in viewership during seasons seven and eight. The reboot did okay the first year, but wasn’t huge, and people lost interest by the second year.

If I’m honest, this third year I’ve kinda been waiting for the patient to die.

6 Comments | tags: Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Foster Brooks, Megan Mullally, NBC, Sean Hayes, Will & Grace | posted in TV, TV Tuesday

February 4, 2020

TV Endings

By Wyrd Smythe

This past Sunday I watched and very much enjoyed the last ever episodes of The Good Place (CBS). I’ve avoided articles about it in my newsfeed, but a headline or two suggested some fans weren’t satisfied. (A rant for another time: Clickbait headlines and headlines with spoilers. So annoying.)

Maybe some fans just didn’t want the show to end, which I get, but I appreciate knowing when and how to make a graceful exit. I like the way the show’s creator, Michael Shur, effectively said, ‘This much and no more.’

As it turns out, it’s not the only show I watch that’s ending. Several of them are. (And there’s one or two I really wish would call it quits.)

6 Comments | tags: Fresh Off the Boat, James Spader, Madam Secretary, Michael Shur, NCIS, South Park, The Blacklist, The Good Place, The Simpsons, Will & Grace | posted in TV

December 22, 2019

Winter Solstice 2019

By Wyrd Smythe

The Winter Solstice was at 04:19 GMT on December 22. For me, in Minnesota, it happened at 10:19 PM CST last night. And today, the first official day of winter, it’s sunny and currently 41° (F) out.

At least we got snow for Christmas. We don’t always.

4 Comments | tags: Constance Wu, Dimension 404, Hulu, Megan Mullally, science fiction TV, Solstice, Will & Grace, winter, Winter Solstice | posted in Life

October 15, 2018

Reboots

By Wyrd Smythe

The other night, I watched the first episode of the CBS reboot of Murphy Brown, and my first thought is that I hope it gets better. A lot better. The only part I liked was the cameo by Hillary Clinton playing “Hillary Clindon,” a potential secretary for Candice Bergen’s Murphy Brown. (If I remember the original show correctly, Brown had a long and troubled history with secretaries, which puts a bit of icing on the scene.)

Seeing the main characters again, for me, was awkward and close to cringe-worthy. They seem very much a product of their era (1988-1998) and didn’t translate well across the two decades that have brought so much social and technical change.

Part of the problem might be that I find CBS half-hour sitcoms tediously dull, cliché-filled, totally unfunny, marshmallow realities.

7 Comments | tags: Big Little Lies, Candice Bergen, Murphy Brown, Patrick Stewart, Star Trek, Steve Carell, The Office, Will & Grace | posted in Movies, TV

May 13, 2012

BB #2: Lamestream Miberal Nedia

By Wyrd Smythe

At some point the phrase, “liberal media,” became part of the accepted public dialog.

Perhaps “accepted” isn’t the correct word, as some have taken the tack that, “No, this statement is false, the media isn’t liberal at all. Here’s proof…” I have never found their arguments convincing, although obviously I have my own bias on the situation.

For purposes of this Brain Bubble, I’m going to take it as given that, as a rule, the media really does lean left (for common definitions of “media” and “left”).

Leave a comment | tags: cable news, CNN, conservative, Ellen, Fox News, Fox TV, internet, interweb, liberal, media, MSNBC TV, news, Northern Exposure, Rant, Will & Grace | posted in Brain Bubble