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TV OT is simply a play look astatine what CNN's amusement squad is watching since excessively overmuch tv has america each moving overtime.
(CNN)After a abbreviated week that someway felt longer than most, it's clip for this week's TV OT.
TV characters that didn't property well
One nighttime this week, I got into the temper for immoderate dense camp, truthful I turned connected "Death Becomes Her," the 1992 acheronian drama that successful nary mode deserves the formed it ended up having (Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis).
It's astir 2 perpetually feuding women -- Madeline (Streep) and Helen (Hawn) -- who participate into an ill-advised declaration successful an effort to enactment young forever.
Twenty-year-old spoiler alert: Madeline steals Helen's antheral (Willis) from her, sending her into an affectional spiral. During her darkest moments, Helen is shown to beryllium overweight (with Hawn successful a abdominous suit), surviving successful an flat with excessively galore cats, binge-eating barroom icing successful beforehand of the TV, obsessed with the thought of getting adjacent with Madeline. She's arrested and carted disconnected to an institution.
Yes, the movie is camp, but since abdominous suits were connected the encephalon this week (see conception below), I conscionable couldn't judge that I'd casually watched this country for truthful galore years and had nary contented with the oh-so-many problematic and damaging messages it was sending.
Then, I started reasoning astir television, and each those characters that look truthful antithetic with 2021 goggles on.
There is, of course, Monica Gellar, whose "friends" connected "Friends" tease her for being overweight arsenic a teen. The communicative constituent is referred to arsenic "fat Monica" and has been fully eviscerated successful caller years. I besides grew up crushing connected afloat trash human Zack Morris, whose unflattering qualities person been good chronicled.
Thinking deeper, though, determination are truthful galore more, for example:
- TV's sitcom creeps -- I'm looking astatine you "How I Met Your Mother's" Barney Stinson, who introduced a procreation of men to thing called the "hot/crazy scale." Also you, Dennis Finch from "Just Shoot Me." The happening is, these guys were ne'er not acknowledged arsenic creeps connected their shows, but efforts were made to marque the assemblage spot past it alternatively than having the characters halt their behavior.
- The 'dumb' blondes -- Poor, Chrissy Snow and Kelly Bundy. Your creators beryllium generations of blondes an apology. Meanwhile, Heidi from "Home Improvement" was not blonde, but I privation idiosyncratic would constitute a reboot wherever the pistillate erstwhile minimized arsenic "Tool Girl" runs a multi-million-dollar operation institution that employed Al and Tim until they died aft unfortunate accidents involving powerfulness tools. (A reminder that Pamela Anderson, who is blond, was the archetypal instrumentality miss Lisa, and gave mode to Heidi.)
- Everything astir "Two and a Half Men" -- I was erstwhile astatine a barroom erstwhile overheard a Wall Street bro astatine different array bellow astir however "Two and a Half Men" was his favourite amusement and past notation to the barroom helium was astatine arsenic "the matter bar." I left. No further comment.
- And let's not commencement with older shows, arsenic CNN's Brian Lowry reminded me. "'The Honeymooners' was a drama classic, for bully reason," helium wrote. "But adjacent if it's understood that he'd ne'er truly bash it, it's not large watching Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden threatening to haul disconnected and sound his woman Alice (Audrey Meadows) each the mode 'to the moon.'"
That's not adjacent getting into the portrayals that were meant to beryllium groundbreaking but ended up representing mistakes we don't privation to spot repeated. Like Maura Pfefferman connected "Transparent," who was astatine the halfway of a groundbreaking amusement but was played by an histrion who is not trans. Or Artie Abrams from "Glee," who utilized a wheelchair but was played by an histrion who does not person a disability.
The bully news: Television is doing better. The bad: Mistakes are inactive being made. The truth: I'm not adjacent definite this paragraph volition property well, truthful each we tin bash is effort and larn from mistakes.
You Trippin'
Speaking of portrayals that I don't deliberation volition property well, number maine among those who had issues with the archetypal occurrence of "American Crime Story: Impeachment," peculiarly Sarah Paulson's portrayal of Linda Tripp. It was the abdominous suit. It was the show's seemingly changeless absorption connected what the quality was eating and consuming -- from her greeting Slim Fast to her candy-sneaking ways -- that went beyond creating a representation of a pistillate with aforesaid esteem issues into the realm of bullying. It was each of it.
There's been a batch of good pieces written astir the taxable this week, but I can't get implicit my disappointment. (Tripp's real-life daughter had nary occupation with the portrayal.)
In defending herself for taking the part, Emmy-winner Paulson told the LA Times that she takes contented with the thought that "the lone happening immoderate histrion called upon to play this portion would person to connection is their carnal self" and called the conception "a existent simplification of the offering the histrion has to make." That whitethorn beryllium true, but then, I wonder, however does "Crime Story" support reducing Tripp to her carnal self?
TV and movie past is riddled with examples of radical who didn't look precisely similar the radical they portrayed. Have you ever seen the real Maria Von Trapp? Or did anyone enactment Michael C. Hall successful fake teeth to play John F. Kennedy? No, due to the fact that the performances transcended the differences.
I besides perceive those who accidental that a plus-sized histrion should person played the part, if carnal accuracy was truthful important to producers. Using the excuse that their prime was conscionable amended for the portion -- and nary 1 tin reason that Paulson is not an bonzer endowment -- sounds a batch similar the words said by producers who don't privation to enactment the limb enactment into casting radical of colour -- oregon successful this case, an histrion who was much physically akin to Tripp.
Some person lauded the amusement for giving the women successful this ungraded their voices back, but 1 occurrence in, lone Monica Lewinsky truly sings here. Lewinsky, who is simply a shaper connected the show, succeeds successful reclaiming her narrative. Otherwise, the show's visuals are louder than its intentions, leaving it a small starved for grace.
'American Rust' is kinda rusty
I truly liked the trailer for this miniseries, but having watched immoderate episodes, Lowry provides this dispatch: "'American Rust' feels similar a sort-of sequel to 'Your Honor,' in presumption of a Showtime miniseries that pairs a beardown formed with reasonably uninspired material. In the erstwhile case, it was a justice (Bryan Cranston) trying to prevention his son. Here, it's a world-weary sheriff (Jeff Daniels, caller disconnected his crook for the wage web successful 'The Comey Rule') who indispensable determine however acold he's consenting to spell to support the grown lad of the pistillate (Maura Tierney) that helium loves. Only 3 episodes were made available, truthful possibly it takes disconnected aft that, but for starters, 'American Rust' (which premieres Sunday) conscionable benignant of grinds along."
A fewer much rounds with Muhammad Ali
Hungry for immoderate Muhammad Ali content? Why wait, says Lowry. "Ken Burns' four-part, eight-hour 'Muhammad Ali' isn't owed until Sept. 19, and it's worthy the wait. But for those who can't, Netflix conscionable premiered 'Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali,' a documentary that focuses connected the analyzable narration betwixt the 2 men, and however Ali distanced himself from the civil-rights activist. The Burns doc covers overmuch of the aforesaid material, and follows the 2019 two-parter 'What's My Name / Muhammad Ali' -- produced by LeBron James' institution -- connected HBO Max. Finally, if you haven't seen it, there's the (somewhat speculative) movie 'One Night successful Miami,' directed by Regina King, disposable connected Amazon. As they say, interval similar a butterfly, watercourse similar a sofa potato."
7 things I bash and don't privation to spot astatine the VMAs
I'm a millennial who remembers erstwhile the MTV Video Music Awards was 1 of the biggest nights of the year. And portion I wouldn't accidental the aforesaid is inactive true, it's harmless to presume they'll notch much viewers than that repetition of "Beat Bobby Flay" airing connected the Food Network and less than football. With these humble ratings expectations successful mind, I modestly contiguous you my hopes for 1 of the biggest nights of the weekend.
DO: Nods to MTV's historical 40 years successful existence. Hey, Nick Jr. gave america Steve from Blue's Clues, what if MTV amazed america with Mark, Nina, Alan, Martha and JJ?
DO: Explain to maine what a Machine Gun Kelly is.
DON'T: Run late. Grandma needs to spell to bed.
DO: Lil Nas X taking vantage of being 1 of the astir anticipated performers of the nighttime (up determination with Normani!) and having his Britney Spears with a snake icon moment.
DON'T: Speaking of Spears, let's not gag astir her existent tribunal drama. As a wise man erstwhile said, permission Britney alone.
DO: A show by host Doja Cat's cat.
DO: Remind radical wherefore the MTV VMAs are fun.
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