The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."
The US government continues attacking ISIS -- in Iraq, at least. During Barack Obama's second term as US President, the US backed ISIS in Syria while attacking it in Iraq. And, of course, it was during Barack's first term, when they overruled and tossed aside the votes of the Iraqi people in the 2010 election, that you saw the rise of ISIS in Iraq. It rose in response to the thug and despot -- and the US's 'guy' -- Nouri al-Maliki's second term as prime minister.
The US backed ISIS in Syria and they helped it rise in Iraq.
That's reality.
When do you think the press will ever ask Joe Biden about that?
Or, since he keeps claiming credit for Iraq, why he overturned the votes of the Iraqi people in 2010?
Movies and TV. For years, the two were enemies who battled for the same audiences. Film companies warned their actors under contract not to do TV. This had not been the case with radio. Film was the visual entertainment medium. Films had morphed from silent to 'talking pictures' and from black and white to color. Even the Great Depression hadn't stopped people from buying tickets to the movies.
Joan Crawford summed up the film community's attitude towards TV when, in 1952, she declared, "Anyone who appears on TV is a traitor." She issued that declaration as Bette Davis made her TV debut guesting on ALL STAR REVUE's "Putting on the Ritz" episode with Jimmy Durante. March 19, 1953, the Academy Awards were aired live on TV for the first time. Bette Davis was to host the New York portion but dropped out. Joan Crawford refused to host or present. She would only appear on TV if she was announced Best Actress (she was nominated for SUDDEN FEAR, she did not win). (She wouldn't appear -- other than audience shots -- on an Academy Award telecast until April 9, 1962 when she presented the award for Best Actor.)
By 1957, Joan had changed her attitude toward TV and used her position on the Pepsi board and her marriage to Pepsi Cola president Al Steel to bump Mary Martin out of the holiday greeting spot at the end of the Pepsi sponsored broadcast of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. Also 1959, Joan starred in the TV film WOMAN ON THE RUN -- ignored by most TV historians when covering TV movies. The 101 minute film was supposed to lead to THE JOAN CRAWFORD SHOW but that never happened. Joan also starred in the eighty-minute TV movie THE FOXES which aired on NBC September 21, 1961 (it was also a pilot).
The wall between the two was falling away by that point. The sixties saw UNIVERSAL STUDIOS begin producing more episodes of TV shows than they did films. And Joan? All over TV. She was doing THE TONIGHT SHOW (including October 1, 1962 -- Johnny Carson's debut as host of the prorgram ), THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW, Virginia Graham's talk show GIRL TALK and THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW. Joan was also doing games show (WHAT'S MY LINE? -- first on December 30, 1960; I'VE GOT A SECRET, PASSWORD; TO TELL THE TRUTH) She was also doing frequent guest spots on TV including CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?; THE LUCY SHOW, NIGHT GALLERY, THE VIRGINIAN, THE SIXTH SENSE and, most infamously, filling in for her sick daughter on the daytime soap opera THE SECRET STORM. Joan was also part of another TV and film product -- the TV show that becomes a film. In 1967, her two parter on THE MAN FROM UNCLE (parts one and two of "The Five Daughters Affair") was turned into the film THE KARATE KILLERS and 1964's ROYAL BAY pilot became the 1965 film DELLA with an additional ten or so minutes tacked on.
From "Anyone who appears on TV is a traitor" in 1952 to "I wish to hell someone would ask me! I was dying to do a DAKTARI or an I SPY. I was desperate to act with Judy or with Gentle Ben. I'm dying to do an FBI or a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. I just wish someone would ask me" (Joan in TV GUIDE's AUGUST 16, 1969 issue).
It was during this time period that film studios realized they could make money off TV. For example, the first theatrical film to be aired on television? 1939's THE WIZARD OF OZ which aired on CBS November 3, 1956. Three years later, CBS aired it again -- and to high ratings which prompted CBS to then air it annually until 1968 (except for 1963). In 1968, NBC picked it up for annual airings until CBS picked the film back up and began broadcasting it in 1976.
TV had already realized that they could make money off film. They'd grabbed film stars and made them TV stars with their own series: Loretta Young, Lucille Ball, Anna Mae Wong, Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Donna Reed, Hattie McDaniel, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Abbott & Costello, Phil Silvers, Martin & Lewis, etc.
In addition, long before MGM sold airing rights to CBS for THE WIZARD OF OZ, TV was airing B-movies from MONARCH and REPUBLIC STUDIOS.
Movies on TV never went away. LIFETIME continues to air new TV movies. HBO, SHOWTIME and others air theatrical films. In fact, every Saturday night, HBO debuts a new film -- new to cable, one released in theaters.
Yesterday, it was Natalie Portman's LUCY IN THE SKY which came out (in the US) last October and promptly bombed. In fact, the only thing harsher than the box office was the critical response. The film was savaged.
We missed it at the theaters and ended up watching it by chance Saturday night. We were many minutes in when we realized this was based on the true events of astronau Lisa Nowak's infamous 2007 stalking of an ex-boyfriend.
Maybe that's why we weren't disappointed?
It's actually a strong film. The cast also includes John Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Tig Notaro, Jeffrey Donovan, Nick Offerman and Zazie Beetz. All give praise worthy performances. The script tells the story in a less than obvious manner for a 'based on a true story' film. It's inventive as is the direction by Noah Hawley.
Natalie's Lucy is a complex character, someone who's achieved something amazing (flight in space) and who is brought down by her own desires. You never feel you're watching Natalie give a performance, you always feel you're watching Lucy Cola (the character she plays).
Maybe cable will give LUCY IN THE SKY new life?
Maybe not.
But there's no life in THE CBS SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE. Not even the announcing by Morgan Freeman seems of this century. Certainly the choices don't. FORREST GUMP and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? People own those movies if they like them.
RAIDERS provided "decent" ratings, reported DEADLINE. FORREST GUMP saw the ratings improve "slightly" -- TV INSIDER noted. By week three, the project was a bust but no one was supposed to notice.
This was supposed to be CBS' answer to sweeps month. They might have been better off airing blocks of MAN OF THE HOUSE. The ratings were dismal.
They might have been better off making the airings a party -- the way TNT used to. Get a lively host (Sandra Bernhard did a great job, for example, hosting the cable network's broadcast of FUNNY GIRL) and let them provide commentary, turn it into an event.
But that would require better movies as well as actual effort -- too much for CBS these days, apparently. Much easier to just toss out a series of films over 20 years old onto TV with nothing to make the airings unique or special and then just pretend to be surprised when the viewers don't tune in.
George Floyd? Of course he was murdered. Didn't you watch the video? He wasn't resisting.
I believe murder charges are necessary. I do not blindly scream that
every time. I do have an uncle who is a police officer and that's
probably why I will say, "Let me look at it." When there's a killing, I
try to look at the information. Most of the time we don't have video.
I don't know how anyone seeing the video could dispute that the police
need to be charged. He was cooperative. He was doing what he was
asked. This is the case of abuse by the police and it resulted in
death. They are given that shield to protect and serve -- not to kill
and maim. There is no excuse for this.
George Floyd was murdered. I feel for his family. If we do not get
real justice, it sends a bad message. There has to be accountability.
Protests soon followed. Some protests had violence and that shocked the pearl clutchers. It didn't shock Marcia who noted:
If you think you've seen rough with the protests so far, you don't know
the half of it. People are tired of this. People are tired of an out
of control police force hunting African-Americans in full view of We The
People.
You don't want unrest? Prove to all of us that the system is fair and
works for all. The way you do that is arresting the murderers and
putting them on trial for murder.
Though the response was perfectly understandable, that didn't prevent some conspiracy nuts from making crazy claims on TV. Aaron Mate noted the ridiculous Susan Rice:
Susan Rice on unrest and violence at the George Floyd protests: "This is right out of the Russian playbook as well."
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More of Susan Rice speculating on CNN that Russia is fueling US protests: "I would not be surprised to learn that they have fomented some of these extremists on both sides using social media. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are funding it in some way, shape, or form."
The tin foil hat wearing Susan Rice shouldn't be allowed on the airwaves again after the crazy talk.
Why is Susan offering crazy talk instead of addressing real issues?
Maybe because, for eight years, she served in an administration that ignored every real issue that is now on fire?
Sanna Towns offers: Living a privileged life as a Black person can cause you to be out of touch with the lives of the masses. I guess Susan Rice doesn’t understand that some of our anger is against policies instituted by folks like her.
CBS NEWS, unlike CNN, tried to stick to reality.
Katie Halper discussed the murder of George Floyd and the protests with Margaret Kimberley.
NAACP Statement on Endorsement Comment by Former Vice President Joe Biden
May 22, 2020
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, made the following
statement about a remark by former Vice President Joe Biden during his
Friday morning interview on “The Breakfast Club.” “Yesterday, former Vice President Joe Biden made a comment about the
NAACP’s endorsement. We want to clarify that the NAACP is a non-partisan
organization and does not endorse candidates for political office at
any level. Persons affiliated with the NAACP at the national, state, and
local levels are free to make candidate endorsements in a personal
capacity, but they do not reflect support by the NAACP as an
organization. The NAACP has one mission and that is fighting for and
advancing our Black communities towards an equitable reality. Our
primary focus at this moment is to ensure that our communities that have
been victims of domestic terrorism and disproportionately impacted by
this pandemic have the opportunity to cast their powerful vote come
November.”
###
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the
nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its
members throughout the United States and the world are the premier
advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about
the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas at naacp.org.
When does Joe stop lying and when does the media start seriously calling him out for these lies?
My boyfriend and I ordered chicken our sides were okra and corn. Long after it should have been here, we get a call from our driver. And that part's okay. We understand food may be late.
It was even okay when we were told the reason for the call: the establishment was out of corn. That's not the delivery driver's fault.
When she arrived with the food, she apologized for being late but explained that they were out of Diet Coke so she had gotten Sprite and . . .
Stop.
My boyfriend's diabetic. A lot of people are diabetic.
In what world would you substitute a regular Sprite for a Diet Coke?
Why do I even have to write about this? It should be obvious to everyone.
But this isn't just a DoorDash issue. Back in January, we went to one of my favorite eateries on Clay Street. And he ordered an unsweet tea and I forget what I ordered to drink. We're waiting for the food and the wait staff sits down our drinks. I'm sipping away and it's a perfect day until my boyfriend takes a sip and spits it out. What's the problem?
It's not unsweet.
We call the waitstaff over and he explains that they were out of unsweet tea so, while that's brewing, he brought over a sweet tea.
How are those the same thing?
There are people who are trying to lose weight and cutting sugar out of their diet. Those people have every right to receive what they order.
But when we're talking about diabetic people, it's not just that they deserve to get what they pay for, it's also that for health reasons, they can't have sugary drinks.
It seems so obvious but clearly it's not connecting with everyone.
Back to DoorDash. We get a call about a side being out. But when drinks are out, they don't bother to call? And, one more time, a regular Sprite is not now or ever the same think as a diet soft drink.
The U.S. government is deploying the army ( that is what the national guard is) against its own citizens. Isn't that now when someone calls for regime change if that was happening in another nation?
Jim, Dona, Jess, Ty, "Ava" started out this site as five students enrolled in journalism in NY. Now? We're still students. We're in CA. Journalism? The majority scoffs at the notion.
From the start, at the very start, C.I. of The Common Ills has helped with the writing here. C.I.'s part of our core six/gang. (C.I. and Ava write the TV commentaries by themselves.) So that's the six of us. We also credit Dallas as our link locator, soundboard and much more. We try to remember to thank him each week (don't always remember to note it here) but we'll note him in this. So this is a site by the gang/core six: Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. (of The Common Ills).
