Revisiting Rumpole of the Bailey.

Seven years later, the cycle has begun anew. It's back to 1970s-era London, only three decades removed from the Blitz; to Pomeroy's and Chateau Thames Embankment, the petty lawless Timsons, Soapy Sam and She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Between Rumpole's inception and Sleaford Mods, what on earth did Margaret Thatcher DO to this country?

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Posted on 7/29/2012

The timing wasn't intentional, but just days after the 10th anniversary of the actor Leo McKern's death, the Confidentials approach the end of an epic viewing cycle.

There are 44 or so episodes in the Rumpole of the Bailey canon, and only three remain for us to watch. For the uninitiated, these are atmospheric British courtroom dramas, originally produced from the mid-1970's through the early 1990's.

Here's an overview, written in the aftermath of McKern's passing a decade ago: Appreciation: Rumpole, farewell!

I'm not sure what it means, but we've been watching British television almost exclusively this year. Maybe it's time to travel again.

In the end, Bill Maher is irrelevant. Read a damn book, will you?

Don't you even start on me. I've had this poster since I was in high school. It is intended as metaphor, suggesting thoughtful repose. 

I watch almost no television of any sort. To me, life is short -- and television is a vaster wasteland than ever. Meanwhile there is writing to do, books to read and plenty of music for inspiration.

It happens that I used to pay sporadic attention to Bill Maher, though his name has appeared at NA Confidential only a handful of times since 2012 or 2013. I'm not certain why I stopped viewing clips of Maher's on social media; perhaps because my social media feeds lean left, and fellow "liberals" decided Maher was kryptonite.

Either way, there's nothing conscious about it, at least on my part. Maher remains entertaining and instructive in my estimation, and at some point, he drifted off my radar. I've probably been busy reading.

Lately I've seen several instances of disavowal on the part of left-leaning friends, and this has provoked a mild curiosity. I do recall charges of Islamophobia; duly noted.

I can't help observing that given our vacuous, late-night, sound-bite culture of skin-deep irrelevance, it's hard to grasp why it matters much. We're getting our news from late night comedians and talk show hosts.

This is the part that should be bothering you.

Why Liberals Need Bill Maher’s Tough Love, by Matt Wilstein (Daily Beast)

Many progressives have written off the ‘Real Time’ host, but his importance to the late-night landscape should not be dismissed.

With the constant barrage of bad news coming out of the White House these days, sometimes it seems like the late-night shows can barely keep up. Night after night, hosts like Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Trevor Noah struggle to find what they hope is a unique comedic point of view on the latest Donald Trump outrage.

But in the year and a half since Trump was elected president, Bill Maher has taken a different approach. Yes, there is still plenty of anti-Trump material in his weekly Real Time monologues, but unlike pretty much every other late-night host on TV, he spends almost equal time holding liberals to account.

One of the biggest criticisms of these types of political comedy shows, even before the Trump era, was that they are simply preaching to their like-minded choir. Just as our Facebook pages reinforce the positions we hold dear, our late-night shows do the same. This is part of what has aided The Late Show’s sprint to the top of the ratings race over the past 18 months. Yes, the news is terrifying, but if we can laugh about it with Colbert at the end of the day, maybe things will be OK.

Real Time with Bill Maher has a different effect, and in turn has been alienating liberals more and more in recent months. But perhaps Maher is performing a more important service for Democrats than they realize. Even if his critiques often come off as “This is why Trump won” moralizing, there is value in acknowledging that Republican incompetence does not negate Democratic mistakes ...

The series Once Upon A Time has run out of it, but Josh Dallas goes on forever in syndication.

Another day at the office with the missus.

I'm famously indifferent to television; consequently, this story is more than two months late, so for the record: The series Once Upon A Time has come to an end, after 150-something episodes.

These factoids matters primarily because the show brought a measure of fame and recognition to a fellow New Albanian, all-around nice guy Josh Dallas, who served as grand marshal during the 2012 Harvest Homecoming parade.

As it turns out, last year's sixth season of Once Upon A Time was Dallas's finale, as most of the original cast members had six-year contracts. Let's hope they get a cut of the residuals from the many hours of "content" the series is destined to become in the years ahead.

My personal favorite Josh Dallas moment came in a movie I've never watched: Thor (2011). the actor prepared for the part of Fandral by researching Errol Flynn and watching Flynn's Hollywood swashbucklers.

Josh and his wife, series co-star Ginny Goodwin, are quality folks. I feel very fortunate to have met them a few years back, and wish them all the best in the future.

‘Once Upon a Time’ to End With Season 7, by Debra Birnbaum (Variety)

The magic is over for “Once Upon a Time.”

The ABC series, which is currently in its seventh season, will end its (fairy tale) storied run with the current season, Variety has learned.

A few more choice words: "What Martin Luther King Actually Thought About Car Commercials."

At YouTube:

What Martin Luther King Actually Thought About Car Commercials: A different portion of the same Martin Luther King speech used in the recent Dodge RAM commercial.

And this:

FIAT CHRYSLER'S 'MARTIN LUTHER KING' AD DRAWS SOCIAL MEDIA BACKLASH, by E.J. Schultz (Ad Age)

The MLK ad drew heat on social media with some critics accusing the automaker of appropriating the civil rights leader's words for commercial gain.

"The vernacular of pornography is now embedded in our culture. Even if you’re not consuming pornography, you’re consuming its logic."

It's neither an apology nor a boast. The simple fact is I watch almost no television apart from documentaries, most of which are viewed on-line.

I haven't seen a minute of any series mentioned in this article, and probably won't watch The Deuce, either.

Rather, I read and write, and typically the way it works for me is that I read a piece about a television show, as below, and find myself intrigued by the subject matter.

Then I go out and find a book to read more about it. It's just a better use of time this way. Different strokes, and all, but "a ready-made critique of market capitalism" is precisely the sort of exercise I cherish -- so long as it isn't necessary to spend time watching it.

David Simon: ‘If you’re not consuming porn, you’re still consuming its logic’, by David Smith (The Guardian)

Alongside longtime collaborator George Pelecanos, The Wire’s creator talks about their new TV drama, The Deuce, which examines porn’s impact on US society

 ... (David) Simon is animated by the perpetual struggle between capital and labour and believes that, after the ravages of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and globalisation, and the anti-establishment anger that produced Donald Trump and Brexit, the argument for unions and collective bargaining is as vital as ever. Which brought him to The Deuce, his ambitious new HBO series charting the rise of the porn industry in 1970s New York.

“What I stumbled into seemed to be a ready-made critique of market capitalism, and what happens when labour has no collective voice, and that seemed to be apt for this moment because I think a lot of the lessons of the 20th century are going to have to be learned all over again thanks to Reagan and Thatcher and all the neoliberal and libertarian argument that has come after,” says Simon, 57, unfailingly intense as he leans forward on a sofa.

Cultural education: Groucho Marx on Dick Cavett, 1969.

This segment was aired almost 50 years ago at the apex of the Woodstock generation's seeming rejection of tradition (but they're voting for Trump now, aren't they?), and viewing the footage now, one is afforded an entertaining glimpse into a long departed era in America.

Groucho was just a bit south of 80 years old at the time this was filmed. Chico and Harpo were dead, though it had been only 12 years since they made a final brief television appearance together. Watch as Dick Cavett plays straight man and stays out of Groucho's way, a forgotten subtlety now.

Groucho's seemingly effortless conversational wit is something I've aspired to ever since watching the old Marx Brothers movies on late night television as a youngster. Amid crippling shyness, possessing a tongue perpetually tied, Groucho was a beacon of what might be. It's a goal forever out of reach, but one that provided bountiful enjoyment along the way -- and every now and then behind the bar, I was so very close.

Caption contest: There's just nothing to watch on TV.

Yes, I know.

I didn't declare a winner last time.

Let's give this illustration a brand new caption.

There were plenty of page views, but only two entries. I may have a couple of good ones for the image above, which I photographed earlier today after almost tripping over the TV.

Deutschland '83: Finally, television I'd like to watch.

I'm notorious for watching very little television -- an hour a week, sometimes two, and just about all of it on the public channels. There are so many worthy books to read.

However, this series sounds like it was written and filmed just for me. Accordingly, I missed last night's premiere. In fact, I couldn't have watched it, given that we have only the local channels on cable.

Some day ...

Spies, Bananas, and the Berlin Wall: ‘Deutschland 83,’ the Summer’s Best New Show, Premieres Tonight, by Andy Greenwald (Grantland)

It’s an eight-part series about a baby-faced East German soldier named Martin who is secreted into the West German army as a spy in 1983, when the Cold War was at its hottest and synth-pop was at its coolest.

Hill Street Blues and the end of my era.

My favorite character was J.D. LaRue.

Figures.

Hill Street Blues probably was the last old-fashioned, three-network, first-run television series I ever committed to watching. Each week, the VCR hummed on cue. Since then, I've shifted.

I find television in general to be the most far-reaching waste of time ever devised by the mind of man. The various cable series (Mad Men, Breaking Bad), et al) that define contemporary culture these days are ciphers to me. For roughly a quarter-century or more, I'd rather be reading a book, and usually do.

But in its time, given my consciousness in the 1980s, Hill Street Blues was a great favorite. Do I commit to the completist's DVD treatment, and do it all over again, or remain content with selective memories?

I'll mull that one, while reading.

Being Careful Out There? Hardly; Steven Bochco and Others on Creating ‘Hill Street Blues’, by Lorne Manly (New York Times)

Cop shows had never looked like this.

A dozen or so regular characters, including a detective who liked biting perps, an alcoholic ladies’ man and an imposing 50-something sergeant dating a high school senior. Sprawling story lines that played out over multiple episodes and veered into messy personal lives. A gritty visual style and a wildly careering tone alien to prime time.

"More people own ferrets than watch Fox News."

Here's the takeaway summary:

Rather than waste time bemoaning Fox’s bogus journalism, liberals should encourage it. The more that Fox News viewers are duped into believing that the misinformation they are fed by Ailes is fair and balanced, the more easily they can be ambushed by reality as they were on Election Night 2012.

But Frank Rich's article at New York is brilliant, and very much worth the time for a full read.

Stop Beating a Dead Fox

The conservative news channel’s only real power is in riling up liberals, who by this point should know better.

 ... But these days Fox News is the loudest voice in the room only in the sense that a bawling baby is the loudest voice in the room.

Blame the corporation and ad agency, not the singer, for Chrysler's USA beer snub.

Nothing against hired hand Bob Dylan, but kudos to Fred "New Holland" Bueltmann for putting into words what quite a few brewery peeps felt (angrily) when we heard that Chrysler, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat, was dissing American beer to sell its multinational cars.

Super Bowl 2014 ad backlash: Michigan brewery owner rips Chrysler over Bob Dylan spot, by Garret Ellison (M Live)

“Shame on you, Chrysler for insulting the hard-working people of Detroit, Michigan and America, by forgetting what craftsmanship is all about – authenticity, artistry, trust and respect. American pride and legacy aren’t about buying local out of obligation. These ideals are about celebrating beautiful things made in our communities and being proud because they’re great. So, if Chrysler is going to try and sell us on some warm and fuzzy American pride rhetoric, why don’t you actually show some first?

So, while Chrysler makes more Super Bowl ads, we’ll keep making the beer; in Michigan and every other corner of this great land. We’ll raise our glass, look each other in the eye and mean it when we celebrate our country’s heart and soul.”

Regular readers will recall my touting Fred's book last year.

Great news: "The Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy" has been funded at Kickstarter.

It's been a great addition to the library.

Doc Severinsen, left standing.

Johnny Carson (2005), Ed McMahon (2009), Tommy Newsom (2007) and now Ed Shaughnessy have died. Doc Severinsen is 85 years old, and was touring as recently as last year.

Carson, during his last show, in thanking Doc and the band, would lament TV's loss of the "last big swing band," saying, "To say that this band is not 'hip' is to not know the meaning of the word."

UK 360: Grassroots "up and down the country".

A new television series in the UK:

Community Channel's UK 360 is a brand new fortnightly television magazine show bringing you inspiring news and stories from local communities up and down the country. UK 360 gives a voice to these communities and to the local individuals and organisations that are positively improving their neighbourhoods at a grass-roots level.

In the first episode we head over to Cornwall to find out how Wadebridge is on it's way to becoming Britain's first solar powered town. They have set themselves a target to generate at least a third of its electricity from solar and wind power by 2015.

and...

Headliners: a charity that works with young carers
Eastside Roots: an interactive garden in a disused railway station
World Film Collective: working with young people to explore the issues of the England Riots
Your Square Mile: empowering local communities
somewhereto: Turning 10 Downing Street into a Parkour playground

To check out other episodes or get more information on UK 360 visit http://communitychannel.mediatrust.org/featured/uk360/.

B. W. Smith: "It's not just that Ward (Cleaver) is more hip than any of us recall, it's that, were he around today, he'd vote Obama."

Thanks, Brandon.

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Ward Cleaver would Vote Obama, by B. W. Smith (Open Salon).

That's right. You read it here first.

Recently, it occurred to me that, despite my best efforts, I had turned into Ward Cleaver. I wore the suit, had the elegant stay-at-home wife, kid, and heck, I even lived in a ranch house built, you guessed it, in the 1950s.

Ward's only a television character, of course, but he's an iconic figure in American pop culture - a symbol of an era that conservatives want us to believe was a golden era of the nuclear family. It turns out, however, that when you examine his record on Leave it to Beaver (courtesy Wikipedia), Ward's not the guy our collective conscious remembers.

It's not just that Ward is more hip than any of us recall, it's that, were he around today, he'd vote Obama. Sure, he looks like a country-club Republican on the surface and kept up appearances for the neighbors, but consider the lesser-known record:

-He reads the newspaper…everyday.

-He played basketball in school.

-He smokes, but he’s subtle about it.

-He dries the dishes for his wife.

-He drinks brandy but not to excess.

-He only owns one car, and he sometimes leaves it at home on a work day.

-He occasionally works from home.

-His job is mysterious, but it involves a briefcase and predicting the needs of women (he was once spotted working on a women’s marketing survey).

-He has a cool bachelor uncle, Billy, the world traveler.

-He was a philosophy major in college.

-He’s a veteran, attends church, and loves his country, but he’s not smug about it.

Thus, extrapolate Ward 50-some years into the future, and you’ve got a college-educated, middle-class professional, green-leaning, family man, non-wacko, main-stream, Midwest blue-state American…an Obama supporter. Just like you and me.

FCC declares female buttocks to be sexual and excretory organs.

The ludicrousness of Puritanism never seems to abate, to which now must be added a dusting of gender-specific anatomical wrongheadedness. Here's the whole story, courtesy of the Associated Press.

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Nude buttocks may cost ABC $1.4 million

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama NYPD Blue.

The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted "multiple, close-up views" of the woman's "nude buttocks" according to an agency order issued late Friday.

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co. The fines were issued against 52 stations either owned by or affiliated with the network.

FCC's definition of indecent content requires that the broadcast "depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities" in a "patently offensive way" and is aired between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The agency said the show was indecent because "it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs - specifically an adult woman's buttocks."

The agency rejected the network's argument that "the buttocks are not a sexual organ."

© 2008 The Associated Press.