This Brought a Smile to my Face

[FreeThinker]

I was half-watching a rerun of Frasier today, which I think was one of the best written sit-coms of all time, and smiled at a scene between Frasier and his boss at the radio station. He was being his usual pompous self and spouting off a long, convoluted sentence and found himself lost about three-fourths of the way through it. Being guilty of often writing run-on sentences, I had to smile at his boss's comment. It's not screamingly funny, but it made me smile.

"Isn't it sad when bad things happen to good sentences?"

I should put that quote on my desktop.

[Cole Parker]

I'm currently watching West Wing from the beginning and am up to about episode 11. Talk about good writing. He might be a bit heavy handed with the liberal crap, but it's so far above most writing today as to be stunning.

I too like Frasier. It wasn't necessarily consistently funny, and Frasier himself could get a bit tiring, but yes, it was a good show. I did like Daphne and Giles a lot.

C

[The Pecman]

I agree with both of you guys. Frasier and West Wing (at least the first few years) were among the best of television in the last 20 years, no question. Terrific shows.

You mean Niles!

[Cole Parker]

Exactly! Giles looked wrong when I wrote it.

C

[Lugnutz]

TV whores.

[FreeThinker]

Oh, my God! Did I actually read the term "liberal crap" in a Cole Parker post? Dear God, I think Miss Parker is channeling her inner Sarah Palin! I am not well! Snap! Snap!

[Cole Parker]

I'm certainly a liberal, but it can be taken too far. Sometimes West Wing overdoes it. You don't think so?

C

[FreeThinker]

Just giving you a hard time, since I haven't been able to give anyone else a hard time since sometime in nineties. :-)

I've been watching too many old episodes of Queer as Folk. I'm starting to sound like Emmett.

Actually, I think Jed Bartlet compromised too often, rather like another recent liberal icon who's proven to be a disappointment. I go further left the older I get.

[DesDownunder]

As the resident left wing orang-utan, I can honestly say I really can't go much further left without being accused of being some kind of secular existential atheist. In reality I'm just a romantic humanist more concerned with means than ends.

My de facto partner (as our government calls him) just bought the whole series of West Wing. We had been working when it was originally shown on TV, and I have to say it is right up there for me with Boston Legal and Harry's Law. I really don't think West Wing overdoes it all. At worst it is a needed compensation for the insanity we see coming from the Right wing extremists. At its best it sets the standard for drama that was once the mainstay of the theatre and movies.

I am certainly very moved by the increase in stories we see coming our way which have a message of love and compassion for the human condition without the theology.

[The Pecman]

I'm certainly a liberal, but it can be taken too far. Sometimes West Wing overdoes it. You don't think so?

I do somewhat, but the good thing about that show is that it at least showed the Dems in the White House screwing up on occasion and having to carve out some kind of settlement with the Repubs. So at least the show wasn't afraid to illustrate how both parties had flaws and both needed to cooperate.

You wanna see too liberal, watch Newsroom on HBO. I'm somewhat liberal, but that show is reeeeaaaaaal liberal.

[DesDownunder]

Newsroom, yeah, I liked that a lot. :)

[FreeThinker]

This is a clip from The Newsroom. Is this liberal or is it just brilliant writing telling the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=74r1VuLMWXc

[Chris James]

I am not a television person, unless the news is on. So a series on HBO wouldn't pull me in...unless it is this one.

I still don't watch the show but I do view clips on YouTube, and Free Thinker's choice is right on the money as a fine example of good writing, acting and even the odd look at liberalism spouting from the lips of a Republican character.

The show does have a lot to say, all of it the antithesis of Duck Dynasty. It takes a brain to watch Newsroom, I have no idea why anyone watches the quack family. This is another fine Newsroom clip:

http://youtu.be/LUyjT8VpwMI