TV Mini Review: REBOOT

(Image via Hulu.Com)

REBOOT MINI REVIEW

LB’S NOTE: I’m almost finished watching the debut season of Hulu’s REBOOT. Here’s my reaction with only one episode left.

What the Show is About:

“When a young writer sells the pitch for the reboot of an early 2000s sitcom, the show’s actors must come back together and face their unresolved issues.” (Per EpisodeCalendar.Com)

The Good:

  • Much better than the old, animated show of the same name.
  • Pretty darn realistic. The show makes me feel like I’m back in the biz again.
  • Funnier than most contemporary sitcoms.
  • Straightforward presentation of current showbiz generation conflicts.
  • As the old pro producer/co-showrunner, Paul Reiser reminds me of – me.

The Bad:

  • Loaded with showbiz stereotypes.
  • Doesn’t hold a candle to other shows of the same type, like Hackers, Episodes, The Dick Van Dyke Show.
  • Why can’t TV in general present LGBTQ characters simply as human beings, without shining a spotlight on their queerness?
  • If I’m really like the character Paul Reiser plays, instead of writing this blog I should be on a permanent professional and personal apology tour. Sorry.

Overview:

This show works best if you watch it before viewing Hackers or Episodes because it just plain can’t stand up to the comparison. Better yet, skip all three and watch The Dick Van Dyke Show on Peacock or buy it at Amazon.

A Not So Exciting Announcement

(Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)

No new post today, I’m sorry to say.

I spent most of yesterday in an O.R. and then the recovery room.

This has been planned for a while. To protect my manly image, I’ll bloviate now about how it’s no big deal. Just a routine “prostate cryo-ablation.”

You know, a guy thing.

I may or may not refer to this event in the future but definitely will do my best to resume posting about other exciting opportunities for personal development ASAP.

Thanks for your good thoughts.

LYMI, LB

The True Fact Secret of Success…

(I'm using this free Image from http://clipart-library.com/ again because a big, cautionary red X should always come with advice, right?)

…As indirectly revealed to me by my Oldest Daughter J— just the other day:

We’re visiting A— this weekend. She’s happy as a clam and taking a film class taught by SK’s ex-wife. It’s a —

Wait! Wait!

To truly appreciate the upcoming punchline, you may need a few additional facts.

I say this because I’m an old-fashioned writer who likes to make sure everything is clear, mostly so I can tell myself that the reason my work has always been misunderstood (okay, maybe not always, but a few times at least) has been because the readers or viewers weren’t paying proper attention and not because I, erm, screwed up.

Therefore:

In addition to being my oldest daughter, J— is my first child in general and a producer/writer at NPR in San Francisco. Her second daughter, A—, is one of my – wait, I’ve got to count – five granddaughters and is a sophomore at UCLA.

SK has been a writer and/or producer on a ton of Marvel films among others. He’s also been a close friend of my older son (also a human whose name starts with a J–) since their college days, which means that SK’s ex-wife has at the very least been a part of the overall Brody extended family.

Older son J– also is well-known within the same business as SK. I’d say a Remembrance of Things Past worth more of great things about him, but he likes to keep a low profile.

I also have another daughter and another son and two grandsons that don’t figure into this conversation. And even though I’m not using their names, I do know them. Just don’t ask me their birthdays, okay?

Now that you’ve been alerted to the backstory, I’ll finish telling you what Oldest Daughter J— was telling me. Let me start over:

We’re visiting A— this weekend. She’s happy as a clam and taking a film class taught by SK’s ex-wife. It’s a small, nepotistic world!

There. That’s it. ODJ said it with a sigh, which is pretty much what this kind of fact of life deserves, but the point remains, not only in showbiz but in all walks of life. The Secret of Success is to always keep in mind that we do indeed live on a small, nepotistic planet. If you can’t manage to get yourself born with the right contacts, then go out and forge other connections with everyone you can.

LB’S NOTE: This, btw, isn’t what I did. Connecting and Larry Brody do not even occur in the same universe. I got started via what I’d have to call “The Second True Fact Secret of Success,” which I’ll throw in now because what the hell:

In spite of possibly being the most antisocial human anyone could ever know, I spent not only my college years but most of my adult life happy as a clam because I was the luckiest son of a bitch you may ever know.

Thanks, ODJ!

LYMI, LB