How was it as YOU’VE seen it on TV?
Like a good basketball point guard, I can be productive even if I don’t have the ball in my hands all the time. So I’m taking a cue from the free-flowing Golden State Warriors and trying to get everyone involved in the offense.
If Steph Curry can do it, I can too.
Yes, I’m handing over today’s column to you readers by incorporating your questions and comments into the mix. If this works, maybe it will become a thing. Meanwhile, I will strive to cut back on my use of sports metaphors.
Here we go:
Let’s start with a timely query from Livermore’s Patty Robins, who wants to watch “The Good Fight,” a spin-off of “The Good Wife.” But she wonders how the heck she’ll see it on CBS All Access, the outlet where it debuts at 8 p.m. 19.
“So is this like Hulu or Netflix?” Patty asks. “Is this a charge service? Why not fully explain it in your column? You don’t say what it is or how to use it . ... Why would this TV show that many of us want to see go to this unknown service?”
OK, so that’s a lot of questions — along with a stern admonishment (duly noted). Yes Patty, it is indeed a streaming service. Like a lot of networks, CBS wants to join the online battle with Netflix and similar sites.
The service costs $5.99 a month, with a $9.99-amonth option for commercial-free fare. You can try it one week for free. On CBS All Access, you’ll find back episodes of current CBS shows, as well as a vast catalog of past classics. It also streams some sports and live events like last Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
Of course, to get more people in the tent, you need programs that can’t be found elsewhere. “The Good Fight,” starring Christine Baranski, will be the first original scripted show on CBS All Access. (“Star Trek: Discovery” debuts later this year).
To allow more people to sample it, the opening episode of the legal series will also be available on ancient CBS on the same night and time. But all new episodes after that will only be available weekly on CBS All Access. LOOKING ‘DEAD’ AHEAD: Now we’ll move onto “The Walking Dead,” a show that always provokes a lot of opinions. In recent months, I’ve published a litany of gripes about the popular drama, including its brutal violence.
Most readers seem to agree. Art Carey of Fremont, for example, wrote: “The show got off track with the arrival of Negan. I saw the first episode of the (seventh) season and was so put off by the character’s sadism that I didn’t return.”
And then there’s this take from an online commentator who goes by the nickname of Dillymac:
“This show has not only jumped the shark, but the shark has been killed, turned into a zombie, had its head cut off, eaten by a whale, digested, turned into whale poop and eaten by starfish on the bottom of the ocean.”
Thanks for that lovely image. Suddenly, I envision a demented crossover between “The Walking Dead” and “Finding Dory.”
A ‘BETTER’ COMEDY: At a time when new programs are popping up anywhere and everywhere, TV critics take great pride in leading readers through the thicket to great shows that might have gotten overlooked. To wit: FX’s “Better Things,” a little gem of a comedy that debuted during the fall just as the broadcast networks were unleashing a barrage of new shows.
Anita Stapen of Piedmont wrote to thank me for my positive plug of the series and deliver her own glowing review:
“I loved this show and thought (lead star) Pamela Adlon was beyond terrific. Brilliant! I’ve never seen a more real depiction of parenting, especially one of a mother dealing with teen daughters . ... So I’m hoping the show is renewed.”
You’re so right, Anita. And you’re in luck. FX has ordered a second season of “Better Things.”
BOWLED OVER: As usual, companies paid huge bucks to advertise in this year’s Super Bowl. But it seems that, for the most part, you weren’t all that impressed.
Commenting on our online Super Bowl poll post, Gordon Freeman put it tersely: “The commercials sucked this year. Nothing memorable.”
Still, there were some diamonds in the rough. The winner of our poll was 84 Lumber, the building-supply company that produced a moving story of a Mexican mom and daughter on the long trek to America. (This was the ad that had to be revised when Fox objected to the image of a border wall).
Finishing second was the slapstick-filled ad for Kia Niro starring Melissa McCarthy as a battered and bruised eco-warrior. Coming in third place was the Budweiser spot that featured the feel-good immigrant’s journey of Budweiser company cofounder Adolphus Busch.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the poll.