Deadwood Episode Guide: I Am Not The Fine Man You Take Me For

Written by David Milch & Regina Corrado

Directed by Dan Attias

The episode begins with a drunk mounting the hustings that were laid for the night’s speeches, uttering the title phrase, and preceding to lament his utter failure in Deadwood. We clearly see him disturb Al’s sleep, and then the man stumbles off the stage, and breaks his neck. The next morning, Al, Dan and Johnny come to investigate, and find themselves unable to successfully eliminate the idea that Hearst had it done. The idea that things just happen is hard for these men to accept, and it also illustrates just how thoroughly Hearst is beginning to take command of events.

In the early morning, Turner comes with a crude drawing of Hearst’s that would seem to illustrate the bar, and that something very dire is about to happen. Dan and Johnny get increasingly agitated, and Dan asks a question that has surely begun to pervade the mind of the viewer as well:

DAN: If we know Hearst is coming, boss, why the fuck don’t we strike first?

AL: From the moment we leave the forest, Dan, it’s all a giving up and adjusting.

Al knows that a larger force has invaded the camp, and is trying his best to outmaneuver it. He still believes that Hearst can be dealt with, and is still trying to act as a force of restraint. So when several of Hearst’s pistoleros come into the Gem, and position themselves exactly where they were in the drawing, Al thinks he has outmaneuvering them when he and Johnny kill two, and send the other two back with a message to Hearst that the speeches are back on. Dan and Johnny clearly think that they have to, but then Turner returns with the message to Al: “Come watch the speeches with me on my veranda.”

By now, Hearst has torn a hole in the side of Farnum’s hotel, a balcony meant to mirror the ones on the Gem and the Bella Union. At this point, Al still seems to think he can handle Hearst as an equal, and when Merrick appears asking Al what the hell is going on, he refuses to tell him, despite Merrick’s own entreaties:

MERRICK: Are we at war now here in the camp? Has that fact been suppressed as well? Absent formal declaration, Al, information which affects this community is not my prerogative to disseminate: to do so is my sacred duty.

AL: Whores currently disseminating a dose for example?

MERRICK: To inform within decency’s limits. We’ve had this discussion before.

AL: Citizens better die postulating that touch indecent ink

MERRICK: Make a list of the infected whores and account for this morning’s gunfire and I’ll publish it all.

Al: I won’t, fucking Merrick, because neither’s to my fucking interest, just as you owning a printing press proves that you’ve an interest in the truth, meaning up to a fucking point – slightly more than the rest of us, maybe, but short of a fucking anointing or the shouldering of a sacred burden, unless of course the print press was the gift of an angel.

Al knows that Merrick can be valuable to this extent – he has used him in the past, and will continue to do so – he throws him the bone of scheduling the speeches that night. But even now, it doesn’t seem clear whether he views what a danger Hearst is.

Most of the rest of the camp is still dealing with their own messes, and Alma’s is particularly dire. Doc has now evaluated that her pregnancy is now to dangerous to continue, and must be terminated. Alma makes preparation to act in case of the unthinkable – she calls Trixie to witness her formally bequeathing everything to Sofia, and when Ellsworth tells her that Bullock needs to be here to hear this, she acquiesces, and goes into great detail as to how to protect Hearst from getting a hold of her claim if should pass into Sofia’s hands. This is a painful moment for both of them, and Alma takes as much weight as she can off Seth by saying that she regrets nothing. Seth clearly does, and goes to Charlie and asks him to stand watch as Doc performs the procedure. He then comes as close as he can to confiding to Martha his sins, and she comes as close as she can to forgiving him. This is a critical point to the show; up until now, Seth has shown a sense of duty to Martha, and treats Alma with passion and as a confidante. From this point forward, the reverse will be true.

Joanie is still trying to recover from why she put a gun to her head the previous day, and can’t shake her attachment to Cy. She seems to be finding a way to detach herself, when Lila begins to overdose, and she spends much of the day trying to tend to her. She later confides in Charlie that she feels at her absolute nadir, and she doesn’t know how to go forward. Charlie brings up the memory of Bill, who clearly had an affect on Joanie in their single meeting – her departure from the Bella Union to go to his funeral was the first real move of her independence.  His comparison of his level of despair despite his affect clearly serves as some kind of inspiration to her; the last time we see her in this episode she offers words of encouragement to Lila.

Tolliver’s faces a ghost of his own, when Andy Cramed returns to the Bella Union. The scene between Tolliver and Cramed is one of the oddest in Deadwood’s history.  Cramed is asking for Tolliver’s forgiveness, and Tolliver seems about to do the same. But then he emerges from his bed, carrying a derringer, claiming ‘the spirit has overtaken him’. Leon then enters the room, and Tolliver turns the gun at him, speaking like a faith healer himself. Cramed remains utterly unflinching, and departs. Tolliver keeps up the act for a few more moments, and then when Con asks him if he wants to see the speeches, he says all right. Was the scene staged? Did he actually intend to kill Cramed? It’s never clear, but Tolliver tries from this point on to resume his role in the camp, even though by this point, he’s nearly as isolated from the elders as Farnum is.

But the major confrontation comes when Al goes to Farnum’s hotel to watch the speeches with Hearst.  Al previously denied the offers of Adams, Dority and Johnny to come to the hotel, saying that ‘they had no reason to be there.’ Hearst and Al go out onto the ‘balcony’ to watch the speeches be made, but we know that the fate of the camp is being decided between these two men. The two manage to have a civil conversation, but Hearst is clearly speaking in the way he clearly sees Al – as a bug to be squashed. He tells Al casual that Turner has a gun to his head, and is far enough away to take him out before Al’s prowess with a knife can serve him. Al admits casually he’s been outplayed, and walks back insider so as not to terrify the onlookers. The scene that follows is terrifying, because it is the first time in Deadwood that Al is being completely outplayed by another man, even though he does his damnedest to stay even:

HEARST: Accepting your premise, Mr. Swearengen, I’ll not name how you would benefit from the action I wish you to take, saying only instead it’s my will, to which I would have you bend. (Indicating a glass) I’d suggest you’d drink that.

AL: No. (Turner produces a hatchet)

HEARST: I would incorporate into my holdings now held by Mrs. Ellsworth. I’m told you can help me bring this about.

Turner knocks down Al with his pistol, Al goes to all fours. Turner pins his hands to the floor.

HEARST: I will incorporate to my holdings the color held now by Mrs. Ellsworth. Tell me how you will help. (He grabs the hatchet) This is a grip I’m used to.

Al, barely conscious, takes this in

AL: Far as making your way into her, act averse to nasty language, and partial to fruity tea.

Hearst then cuts a part of Al’s finger off, which compared to what he is capable of, seems minor. But in doing so, he has effectively taken control of the camp away from Swearengen. All Al can do now is try to maintain the illusion. He leaves the hotel, looking weak, but convinces Bullock just to let him lean on his shoulder, until he can get to the Gem. He then tells his men to stand down, and just let him walk into his saloon, assuming that everything is normal.

But Al has been shaken by this in a way that he is not willing to even admit to himself. He is completely at a loss for the first time since the series has started. And even knowing Hearst’s endgame, there is little that he – or the camp – can do to prevent. All they can do is try to keep capitalism at bay. But as we learned last season, you don’t fuck the future. The future fucks you.

A Thirty Year Old Story All Too Familiar: When They See Us

There are some series I just don’t have the time for, and that’s just as true for Limited Series. When They See Us debuted on the cusp of Emmy eligibility, and immediately received ecstatic notices for every element – Ava Duvernay’s writing and direction, the superb cast, and dealing with a subject that we really wish would come up less. But just as I misjudged Godless’ eligibility for the Emmys last year because it was on Netflix, I did the same for When They See Us. In addition, there was way too many great Limited Series this years for me to think it would make it through. Then the Emmy nods came out last week, and it got sixteen, beating out True Detective and Very English Scandal for Best Limited Series. Given the fact that I had seen the other four nominated series, I decided to try and complete the set.  I’d say I’m glad I did, but this is one of those series where saying ‘glad’ makes you want to rethink the adjective.

(Since this is a four-part limited series, I will do two reviews: one of the first episode where I give my initial impression, and one where I judge the work as an entirety.)

As the entire world knows, When They See Us deals with the story of the Central Park Five: five young African-American teenagers who were falsely accused of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989, were forced into confessing, were falsely convicted, and spent more than a decade in prison before they were finally exonerated in 2002. The case would become a flashpoint for how the criminal justice system worked against black defendants and in particular, how the NYPD and the District Attorneys office was willing to manipulate the truth in order to get a conviction.

The first episode deals with the process that got the five boys – and that’s what they were, boys -  arrested in the first place. We meet all five of them in momentary flashes. (All of the five are played by two different actors throughout the series, with the exception of Jharrel Jerome, who plays Korey Wise, and serves as the lead.) It is clear from the moment we meet them that they are innocent children whose only crime was to get caught up in a lot of activity in the Park around the time the victim was being raped. They are picked up by the police for disturbing the peace and with the exception of Korey and Raymond Santana, most are released. Santana was held because his father (played by John Leguizamo in one of his strongest performances ever) couldn’t get off work, and couldn’t stay for him. Korey’s mother (the flawless Niecy Nash) spent hours going from station to station looking for her son.

From the start, its very clear that this there is no real evidence for what is about to unfold. The lead detective, Linda Faristein (Felicity Huffman, who despite all the scandal, demonstrates that she is still a great actress) seizes upon the boys almost instinctively because they are young and black. The cops don’t even hesitate in overusing their authority to grab them off the street. And from the start, they begin browbeating these innocent children into saying things that are clearly false, and when the facts don’t fit the story, they rearrange the facts. And when the prosecutor (Vera Farmiga) tells them that she doesn’t want to go the court with a shitty case, they begin to openly beat No one says they’re being blamed because their black and the cops are white, but they all know it. One of the fathers (the peerless Michael K. Williams) is manipulated by the cops because of his record, and then tells his son, who he knows is innocent, that he has to confess :”Because that’s what the police do to us.”

I’m not going to lie to you. When They See Us is a hard series to watch. It’s emotionally raw, and seeing the open racism and disdain cops have their subjects is really painful, and that’s before you take into consideration how far we haven’t come in thirty years. (When one of the mother’s mentions to Fairstein that she’s been interrogating a fifteen year old boy, Fairstein just says: “Do you have his birth certificate? Considering how this case was critical in our current president’s history, its not subtle.) I was constantly reminded of American Crime, a series which constantly demonstrated how horrible our justice system was when it came to dealing with the underserved, and its rawness no doubt stopped viewers from embracing its greatness. No one on this planet is going to be able to see this series and feel anything but pain. Which is also the reason everyone should see it. I don’t expect it to bingeworthy, but its definitely appointment television.

My score: 4.75 stars.

The Lies May Be Little, But The Payoff Was Big: Big Little Lies Season 2 Summary

It’s always harder to measure when a ‘season’ begins for a cable network, where original programming can be found every few weeks. But if one measures HBO’s season starting last July and beginning in June, there is an interesting symmetry. Last July, HBO debuted Sharp Objects, a female dominated drama, written by Gillian Flynn, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, which was based on the best selling novel that was centered on the poisoned relationship between a mother and her daughters that involved decades of psychological and emotional abuse, and culminated in murder. Led by the formidable actresses Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson (who received much deserved Emmy nominations for their work last week) it dripped, dripped, dripped until the climax came.

Yesterday, almost a year ago to the day, the second season finale of Big Little Lies aired. Originally based on a best-selling novel, when the second season was announced late in 2017, many (myself included) had considerable doubts whether it made sense to do another season of a work that seemed utterly complete when it ended.  The doubts were resolved very quickly when we first saw Meryl Streep’s superb work as Mary Louise White, Celeste’s mother-in-law, a woman whose quiet behavior hid the fact that she was just as emotionally disturbed as her son – she just dealt psychological damage rather than physical abuse.

It is clear that the fallout for the actions of the Monterey Five (as they were referred to repeatedly throughout the second season) was internal. Each of them had to deal with their own level of damage during every aspect of their lives. Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) spent most of the second season trying to repair the damage with her husband, who was doubly scarred when he learned about Madeline’s lie about Jane and her infidelity. Of all the survivors, she did everything she could to try and save her marriage, and her relationship may be saved.

 The damage was far darker and not always the same for everyone else. Jane (Shailene Woodley) had to deal with Ziggy learned the truth about his conception and his parentage. She spent most of the season trying to build a relationship with a co-worker, who she clearly liked, but couldn’t connect with sexually because of the trauma of her assault. She was also further betrayed by the fact that he was brought in by the police for questioning, but it was the help of Ziggy (the incredible Ian Armitage) that eventually got her to move forward. In a time when HBO can rely so much on titillation, the filming on their love scene was one of the more subtle moments.

Renata (Laura Dern) had to deal with outside events. In the second episode, she learned her husband was guilty of embezzlement and securities fraud. She spent most of the season trying to deal with the humiliation of being dragged through bankruptcy court, and then finally to learn that her husband had been sleeping with her trusted nanny.. More than almost any other actress in this incredible cast, Dern had some of the most glorious moments in this season, climaxing when she finally released all of her pent up frustration at her husband by destroying a train set that he had tried to cheat the government from selling. Dern’s work is some of the best in her storied career.

But by far the biggest surprise of this entire series was the work of Zoe Kravitz. Bonnie was given very little to do in the first season, but in the second season, reeling from her actions of pushing Perry, Kravitz was a revelation. Dealing with the guilt by ignoring her husband, and taking trips out to the precinct, she also had to deal with the problems with her mother. An alcoholic and emotionally damaged mother, Bonnie had clearly never been happy with her, and when her mother suffered a stroke halfway through the series, the feelings continues to bubble up, and in a way of penance, she spent most of her days and nights and her mother’s hospital bed, trying to deal with her brief emergence from a coma with the words ‘kill me’. Kravitz had two of the best moments of any actress so far this season; first when she gave a confession to her comatose mother of all the things she was angry at her for, and then when she told her husband, Nathaniel (Madeline’s ex) that she didn’t think she’d ever loved him. It was incredible work that is likely to be, as was her fashion last time, overshadowed by brighter suns.

Which would be Streep and Kidman. Celeste spent the majority of Season 2 dealing with the afterlife of someone whose been abused for years: she missed her abuser. Even after everything he did to her, she was still trying to justify her love for Perry. She kept getting high on Ambien, having sexual encounters with strangers, and dealing with a mother-in-law who refused to believe the worst in her son, even despite the evidence. The battle between climaxed in a courtroom (this is, after all, a David E. Kelley show), where Celeste finally brought out Mary Louise’s emotional failing –  and it was tied to yet another trauma – the death of Perry’s brother in a car accident as a child, where Mary Louise had been yelling at him, and spent the rest of his childhood emotionally battering him. And even at the end, it’s unclear how much, if any, blame Mary Louise takes for her part in creating her son.

Now for the question that I have no doubt millions are asking: will there be a season 3? Once again, it seems very possible, given the last shot of the episode, that they have come to a natural conclusion for the show. But one could make the exact same argument for the ending of Season 1, and we got a second season regardless. There is, of course, the economics: in a post Game of Thrones world, will HBO try to prolong any series that has a measure of critical and ratings success? That is, after all, how television works, even in the New Golden Age. More to the point, I actually think there might be room for a third season. (Hell, considering all the traumas the children have gone through or might face in the future, maybe in ten years, we’ll get Big Little Lies: The Next Generation.)  All I know is, after Season 1, I thought the story was over. After Season 2, I wanted to know what happened next.

Big Little Lies has the makings of great things for Peak TV. I’m more than willing to put it on my top ten list for 2019, and I have no doubt the female acting categories for next year’s Emmys are all but spoken for. (The biggest question is, who will be in the Lead, and who will be Supporting?)  I don’t know if there will be more for Big Little Lies. But I really want there to be.

Deadwood Episode Guide: Tell Your God To Ready For Blood

Written by David Milch and Ted Mann

Directed by Mark Tinker

The third (and unfortunately, the last) season of Deadwood has never quite been viewed with the same scope as the first two. Part of that may have come from the dismay that by the time the season began airing in June of 2006, the public knew, due to the unfortunate announcements of HBO, that there wasn’t going to be a fourth one, that the series would forever be an incomplete statement. There is a tendency among the public to view series that end too soon as failure, and that may have carried over.

There were also several problems with the third season, none of them enough to ruin the series overall, but many which interrupted its flow. The biggest problem with the third season is also one of its greatest strengths: George Hearst has finally taken a position in the camp, and he will spend it as the figure of capitalism trying to gain complete dominance of it. This led to the casting Gerald McRaney as Hearst, a very good television actor before hand who, like so much of the rest of the cast, would do his greatest work in Deadwood. And as the third season begins, Hearst’s maneuvers will begin to encompass the entire camp.

The episode begins six weeks after the second season concluded, and it starts with a murder in the Gem of a Cornishman. Because the dialogue is incomprehensible, the murder seems so as well, though Al seems to get a very good handle on what – he doesn’t know the why, but he knows that Hearst had the murder occur in the Gem to get a reaction from him and Bullock.

The speechmaking for the elections is making everybody uncomfortable. Seth goes to Martha and asks her to go over the wording of his speeches. Charlie is petrified just as the idea of having to speak from the audience. Sol is officially running for mayor, and Farnum seems more than comfortable than the idea of standing against it. When Ellsworth walks Sofia to school (Sofia now seems far more energetic than she has at any point in the series) she mentions who’d she’d vote for, and the baking of bread. Even Harry Manning, the bartender from Nutall’s saloon (who notoriously killed the wrong man by accident in the season 2 premiere) is being set up for favors by the drunkard Fields. And Al continues his efforts to try and manipulate events from afar.  He wants Sol to be mayor, and he wants Trixie to be happy, but he knows the mayor can’t be seen at a whorehouse. So weeks earlier, he has Adams buy a house for the sole purpose of getting out of ownership of it, making Sol owner. He then has Trixie move into Shaugnessy’s hotel (we’ll get to that in a minute) so that she can ‘pop out of it and manipulate (Sol’s) johnson’). This deviousness infuriates Trixie when she figures out what’s going on, and purely baffles Sol, who admits he never saw himself as a homeowner.

When Seth hears about the murder of the Cornishman from Charlie, he enters his usual level of slow burn. First he goes to Al, and demands to know why he wasn’t told about it earlier, and Al tries to tell him that he doesn’t want him go off half-cocked when he goes to see Hearst a few minutes later. Bullock moves to the hotel (Hearst’s now) and has a very strained meeting with him. Hearst has an easy time toying with Bullock, but ultimately he cares less about the murder of the Cornishman, and more about acquiring Alma’s claim. Bullock gets pissed:

Bullock: You stay out of our fucking affairs.

Hearst: Affairs of that sort aren’t my interest, Mr. Bullock. My only passion’s the color.

When he implies that Bullock’s has a biblical knowledge of Alma, Seth excused himself, heads downstairs and proceeds to beat E.B. so badly, Richardson has to go to the Gem to get people to get Farnum to safety.

Bullock and Swearengen react differently. Bullock goes to the jail, and puts himself in the holding cell, thoroughly considering the idea that he needs to withdraw from the race. Al has already tried to talk him out of this, but Charlie responds more logically by explaining how much worse the camp would be if Manning was Sheriff. Bullock then realizes that he probably gave his relationship with Alma away, and that his own temper, as it tends to do, outvoted him.

When Al deals with it, he sits next to E.B. and gives one of the most comic threats he’s ever done

Al: Life will be over for you, and Death will offer no relief. I will profane your fucking remains, E.B.

Farnum: Not my remains, Al.

Al: Gabriel’s trumpet will produce you from the ass of a pig.

Farnum already terrified tells him the truth, and Al believes him, and cancels the night’s speeches for him ‘to recover’.

This leads to one of the few times that Al walks the streets of the camp. He goes to Hearst’s room, and the two have a meeting, which starts out convivial, and gets progressively darker. We get to the purpose of the shooting: the Cornishmen who aggregated in the Gem that morning were ‘agitators’, i.e., planning to unionize. Neither man cares about the threat that might mean in the short term, but Al gathers his menace and tells Hearst he will be a problem – he will cancel the elections altogether, he will rip up the agreement with Yankton - if there is another murder in his joint. We know how dangerous Al is, so when seconds after Hearst leaves he tells Captain Turner to begin the planning of another murder in exactly the same fashion, we realize that he is operating on a completely different level than we are used to.

Al knows that there is to be trouble again (he says the title phrase to Richardson on his way out) and says that he can understand what’s going to happen next, and that he doesn’t know why Hearst needs to control the camp. This may be the first time that Al has acknowledge that he is, for all intents and purposes, a big fish only in the small pond of Deadwood, and it may account for how he has trouble going forward through most of the season.

But he’s not the only one having a problem. Joanie is dealing with Cy’s stabbing by returning to the Bella Union, which has begun to resemble a circle of hell. Lila, the whore who took Joanie’s place after she left, has developed an addiction to drugs, and the backroom is, as Joanie puts it, “smelling like a hogwhore’s cunt.” Leon and Con are snapping at each other in the cage, and the place is a lot emptier. And Cy seems to be going through a bizarre mania combining God and whoring, and every time Joanie goes to see him, it seems to take more out of her. Even if agony, Cy remains ruthless and dissecting:

TOLLIVER: You listen to me young lady, what brings a gun to the temple is lack of gainful occupation and being useful to others. I don’t see you trying to kill yourself here. All you do here is good for the girls and me too.

JOANIE: I don’t want to run girls no more.

TOLLIVER: That’s turning from your gift and your training.

JOANIE: When you speak I feel like it’s the devil talking.

And the devil still has pull over her: she checks into Shaugnessy’s hotel (the owner bitching about how she left the room last time) and puts a gun to her head again. Again, she manages not to pull the trigger, but we get the feeling this isn’t the first time she’s come here with that purpose in mind.

By now, the Chez Ami has become the de facto schoolhouse for the children of the camp. Mose is still serving as a ‘watchmen’, and Jane is still bitching about his presence, months after recovering from being shot. She claims he’s scaring the children, even after Martha tells her later she’s not.

Jane is still trying to find a purpose in the camp, still getting drunk, and still being a pain in the ass. When Martha comes to discuss her about a lesson plan she has about her scouting for Custer, it takes a lot of energy for her to agree to do it. But it is critical it happens, because it is here we see salvation for both Jane and Joanie, and maybe a lesson for the camp as well. The penultimate scene revolves around a discussion between the two in which Jane nags about her repeated voyages to Tolliver’s as if she going to leave the Chez Ami. Joanie confesses her own problems (but not their depth) and Jane says something that might serve as the motto for the entire camp (and maybe the series as a whole:

Every day takes figuring out all over again how to fucking live.

Alma may be finding that out soon enough. She has settled into a house with Ellsworth and Sofia, and actually seems better off, but the second they leave to walk her to school, she collapses. We know that carrying a child to term may kill her, but even so she is terrified of even taking the laudanum solution that she worked so hard to kick in Season 1. The Doc convinces her to take it, and persuades Ellsworth to make sure she does. But we know how addiction plays out, and that Alma first became addicted when she was married to a man she didn’t love. The worst possible scenario for her may be coming at the worst possible time for all in the camp.

My Reaction To This Year's Emmys: Best Limited Series/TV Movie

LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE

Before I begin my reactions, I feel I must comment on the two biggest injustices of the Emmy nominations. The fact that I now have to advocate for HBO while doing so is an irony that doesn’t escape me.

First of all, they really should extend the Best Limited Series to six nominees. Keeping at five, particularly in an era where so many great limited series come every year, seems a tired holdover. Many solid series were ignored, including A Very English Scandal and Good Omens, but the biggest victim was True Detective. Considering that the third season was arguably the most complete and best that the series has yet produced, the fact that it was ignored from most of the major categories I find very sad. I also find that the overcompensation for When They Say Us probably victimized True Detective the most, particularly in the Supporting Acting categories. Don’t get me wrong, there have been a lot of great limited series this year, and True Detective may be behind the curve, but it deserved more recognition nonetheless.

Second, I’m beginning to think we may need to create a separate category for TV Movie acting awards. Yes, it would probably add another half-hour to an already long show, but all of the acting nominees were from Limited Series. And the biggest victim of this was Deadwood, which was shutout of these categories, as well as writing and directing. It will surely win Best TV Movie regardless, but it’s a great loss, particularly for David Milch, whose health is clearly failing, and should have at least been nominated. Emmy! Cocksuckers! To paraphrase Mr. Wu. Anyways.

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Considering that I advocated for four of the nominated series, there’s really no objection to be had, except for the need to expand to six nominees minimum. I intend to see When They See Us  soon, so I’ll wait. But thank you for recognizing Chernobyl, Escape at Dannemora, Fosse/Verdon and Sharp Objects. Problems with the number of nominees aside, this category is a horse race with no clear favorite. I don’t envy the voters their job..

BEST ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

I advocated for five of the six nominees in this category. Jharrel Jerome must really feel like he’s in over his head against this group. Three Oscar winners (Ali, Benicio Del Toro, Rockwell), one genuine Hollywood star (Hugh Grant) and a superb television actor (Jared Harris). And just like Limited Series, there is no clear frontrunner. I just wish they could’ve found room for Ian McShane somewhere.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE

Patricia Arquette, Michelle Williams and Amy Adams are going to be dueling to the death in this particular category, and Joey King is going to be giving them a hell of a fight. Again, I’m not as certain about the two nominees from When They See Us (though I’m always glad to see Niecy Nash nominated for anything), but I really think they should’ve found room for Connie Britton somewhere.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Here I start having real problems. Ben Whishaw deserves to be here, as do Paul Dano and Stellan Skasgard, who I actually thought was more of a long shot. Now, I’m aware that When They See Us was an ensemble piece, and I’m always glad to see Michael K. Williams nominated for anything. (They have years of reparations to make up for his work on The Wire and Boardwalk Empire). But couldn’t they have found room for Stephen Dorff in True Detective, or was his work not nearly as showy as Ali’s? And nothing for anybody in Deadwood, Gerald McRaney in particular? This does seem to be overcompensation

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

And it gets worse here. Patricia Clarkson more than deserves to be here, and she’s still probably the favorite. Emily Watson was superb for her work in Chernobyl.  Patricia Arquette had a hell of a season, and I don’t really object to her double-dipping. And I’m glad to see that Margaret Qualley, who I thought was a real longshot for Fosse/Verdon was put on the list.

Again, my objections are to When They See Us. I think Vera Farmiga is one of the most undervalued actresses in the history of… well, anything, and I’m glad to see her nominated. But two of the most likely nominees got shut out: Robin Weigert for her memorable work as Calamity Jane in Deadwood, and especially Carmen Ejojo for her work on True Detective. She particularly seemed like a sure thing for most of the balloting, especially considering she was the first truly well-drawn female characters on that series. Did fatigue for that show cause her to be ignored? That I find sad.

That’s wraps up my opinions. I’ll be back in the weeks to come to express opinions on the races in general. And I sure have some.

My Reactions To This Year's Emmy Nominations: Part 2, Comedy

I’m generally happier about the comedies, which is a rarity for me because I usually don’t agree with the Academy as to what is funny. I’m mainly glad with proportions. I expected Veep to get nominated, but it didn’t do nearly as well as it has before. I expected it to trail Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but Barry and Russian Doll? Both are exceptional comedies,  thought they were to daring for the usually conventional academy.

I’m not stunned that Big Bang Theory isn’t here – it had its day in the sun. And I’m hardly shocked that Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend were ignored – the Emmys will never acknowledge the CW, no matter how brilliant the programming.

However, I will comment on something I usually don’t – the writing nominations. The Emmys had the great sense to nominate two episodes that were among the best in television history last season – ronny/lily for Barry and ‘Janets’ for The Good Place. They might both end up losing to Veep’s series finale – after all, ‘Teddy Perkins’ didn’t win last year despite the raves, but at least they were acknowledged. I’m grateful for that, at least.

Now, to the specifics.

BEST COMEDY SERIES

They nominated The Good Place! They showed some forking sense this time! Better late than never, but still, hurray! Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has cemented its position as the favorite with 20 nods (and that’s without anything for the writing) Did the Emmys overcompensate for Barry? Actually, no. The cast and writing were particularly outstanding. I’m also inclined, having seen the first few episodes, to say I was wrong to ignore Russian Doll in my original predictions. And now, clearly I have to see Fleabag, which frankly won’t take much of a commitment.

I’ve expressed my reservations about Veep, but they didn’t overcompensate. And admittedly, Schitt’s Creek has developed a huge following among audiences and critics alike, so I’m willing to give them a pass. I’m just a little surprised, considering that they had eight nominees in this category last year, they couldn’t find room for GLOW or The Kominsky Method. Still, a lot of new faces which is good.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Michael Douglas, Ted Danson, and Bill Hader, I all expected would be present. Ditto Don Cheadle. Anthony Anderson isn’t a huge surprise, and frankly black-ish deserves more nominations.

Eugene Levy deserved an Emmy nomination for something. He’s one of the most undervalued legends of comedy, and Schitt’s Creek has clearly been a family affair. I just wish the Academy could’ve found a way to acknowledge Jim Carrey or Kidding in some way. Perhaps his politics really did overshadow his superb performance.

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

This is an interesting group. Since we know it will come down to a showdown between Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the heavyweight champion, and Rachel Brosnahan, the reigning winner, who has taken every prize between here and the Emmys, its interesting to consider who else was nominated this year.

Natasha Lyonne – in retrospect, she earned her nod, not just for creating the series, but also for falling down the stairs so many times. I know how brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge is just from her work on Killing Eve; I now have to give time to go through her work on Fleabag. And Catherine O’Hara has been one of my favorite actresses for a quarter of a century, so she deserved to get nominated for Schitt’s Creek.

It’s Christina Applegate’s nomination for Dead to Me that I have trouble with. Don’t get me wrong. I love Applegate. I’ve admired her work longer than O’Hara’s. But she seems a bizarre choice among the Netflix actresses. Lily Tomlin or Alison Brie would be a far better choice? And how the hell could the Emmys choose to completely ignore Pamela Adlon and Better Things which was one of the most remarkable television events this season? At least Rachel Bloom was nominated for musical Emmys, but completely shutting out Adlon? That seems unfair. I know some people will be ignored, but still.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Again, I’m happier with this group then with the last one. I predicted Tony Hale, Alan Arkin, Henry Winkler and Tony Shalhoub would all be deservedly nominated. But did they have to overcompensate for Barry so much? Don’t get wrong; Stephen Root did superb work this season on Barry, and I don’t think I gave nearly enough credit for Anthony Carrigan’s work as Hank. But couldn’t they have found room for Andre Braugher or William Jackson Harper? This just seems a little narrow.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Okay, I’m glad they managed to find room for eight nominees, just like last year. I’m equally impressed they managed to do so without overcompensated for SNL. But this is a strange bunch.

Alex Borstein and Marin Hinkle – marvelous. Kate McKinnon, hard to deny her talent. Betty Gilpin is a tower of strength on GLOW (another series that got shutout for some reason) And I can see the logic in nominating Anna Chlumsky isn’t of the other actresses.

I’ll withhold judgment on Olivia Colman and Sian Clifford for Fleabag until I see their work. But I am a little puzzled by Sarah Goldberg’s nomination for Barry. Don’t get me wrong – she was superb and much of her performance held up Barry’s actions throughout Season 2. But how can they justify ignoring D’Arcy Carden for The Good Place? They were wiling to nominate the episode she was in for Best Teleplay, so how can they justify ignoring her? Hell, she was in Barry, so it’s not like they could say they didn’t know who she was. I’m a little depressed that Mayim Bialik was shutout for the last time, but otherwise, I can live with most of them.

BEST GUEST ACTOR AND ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

As has been the status quo for the last three years, this category was dominated by host of SNL’s. I’m actually okay with John Mulaney and Robert DeNiro being nominated, and in words I never thought I’d say, I liked Adam Sandler on SNL. He was funny, and his tribute to his friend Chris Farley was very moving. I’m also alright with Emma Thompson taking a nod. I’m fine with Pete MacNicol’s nod for Veep (he’s actually the one actor on that series I hope will win), and it was good to see Maya Rudolph back for her work as The Judge on The Good Place. Jane Lynch and Luke Kirby are superb on Mrs. Maisel. I just wish they could’ve found room for Christine Baranski and Bob Newhart somewhere on this list, but they’ve won before.

I’ll wrap it up tomorrow with my remarks on Limited Series. This year, it’s going to be a doozy.

My Reactions To This Year's Emmys: Part 1, Drama

My reaction to the Emmys has always been something of a mixed bag, as they never quite seem to satisfy me.  I’ve written numerous times about how Game of Thrones is arguably the most overrated series in Emmy history, and this year’s nominations seem to prove it in spades.  Even though fans of the show thought the last season was horrible, even though critics were generally unsatisfied with how the last season ended, the series still got 32 nominations this year. That’s more than CBS got. And why? To acknowledge that it was one of the last water cooler series in history? So was Lost, and I don’t recall Emmy voters going into this kind of ecstasy when that show ended.

Even more frustrating are some of the series that got ignored even though many of the more famous series that were regulars skipped this year’s nominations. I can understand, though not happily, why The Good Fight was shutout by the Emmys; the voters have decided that no matter how good this verse is, they’re never going to acknowledge it. But how could Emmy voters ignore Homecoming? For much of the 2019 awards seasons, the series and Julia Roberts in particular were huge among critics choices. So why was it and its able cast (particularly Julia Roberts) were completely shutout?

And The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t premiere its third season until last month, and its previous season already was acknowledged by the Emmys last year. Why the hell did it get eleven nominations regardless? Admittedly, none of them were in the major acting categories or writing, but what kind of messed up calendar are the Emmy voters following?

I’m actually far more satisfied with the Comedy and Limited Series choices this year (though as always, they weren’t perfect either). I’ll go into more detail in a bit, but for now let me deal with Best Dramas

BEST DRAMA

I am grateful the Emmys were willing to expand the category up to eight nominees this year. Considering how many of the big players were absents, its good to know that the Emmys can still recognize talent when they see it. Leaving aside Game of Thrones, Better Call Saul, This is Us, Ozark, Killing Eve and Pose have m0ore than earned the right to be here.

It’s the fact that they chose to nominate Bodyguard and Succession instead of Homecoming and Good Fight that I find offensive. They each got a best Drama nod, but nothing in the acting categories, and nothing in directing or writing. Considering that Richard Madden won a Golden Globe this is bizarre. Its like nominated a film for Best Picture and then ignoring it in any other category. Succession is a strong series and deserved more recognition than it got. Bodyguard wasn’t even the second strongest Drama on Netflix this year. They couldn’t make room for Billions?

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

I’m actually mostly happy with this field. Ventimiglia and Brown earned their nominations, and Jason Bateman was particularly strong. Bob Odenkirk may have moved into the favorite position, and Billy Porter more than deserves to be here. I really wish they would’ve chosen Paul Giamatti over Kit Harrington, but he’s the one Game of Thrones actor I don’t mind seeing nominated. So no real problem here.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

I wanted Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer to be here, so that’s great. Ditto Laura Linney. And I’m absolutely over the moon that they decided to finally acknowledge Mandy Moore for her incredible work on This is Us. I can see the reasoning for Emilia Clarke, even if I don’t approve.

The other two nominees I have a major difficulty with. How to Get Away with Murder has been bleeding viewers for two seasons, and dropping in quality for even longer. So why the hell did the Emmy voters choose to acknowledge Viola Davis again?

But it is Robin Wright’s nomination I find appalling. House of Cards was toxic this year. And it didn’t end well critically or popularly. So to nominate Wright seems to be an act of pure laziness. Julia Roberts and Christine Baranski got shafted for her? This is true miscarriage of justice that I really think Diane Lockhart should look into.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Good stuff first. Thrilled Jonathan Banks is back, equally gratified to see Giancarlo Esposito returning to the Emmy podium. And if I was thrilled that Mandy Moore was recognized, I’m over the moon that Chris Sullivan was nominated for This is Us. It’s not that he wasn’t excellent this year – he was – but he’s so quietly brilliant, I figured he’d be overshadowed by the brighter sun of Justin Hartley. Golden, man

Now, let’s get to the rest. I realized Game of Thrones would dominate this category, but we’re verging on the ridiculous. Dinklage, fine. Coster-Waldjau, he’s been nominated before. But who the hell is Alf Allen? Did even Game of Thrones watchers know what character he played? I’m assuming he died. You’d couldn’t have nominated one of the supporting actors from Homecoming? You’re making me advocate for Bobby Canavale. Do you know weird that makes me feel?

I am so up in the air about Michael Kelly. I loved his work on House of Cards. I thought it was brilliant, even when the shows quality plummeted. But the same stink that’s on Wright is on him by association. I can’t in good conscience approve of it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Really Game of Thrones? You had to overwhelm this category. I was expecting maybe two or three nominations, but four. I knew The West Wing, I worshipped The West Wing, and you ladies, are no West Wing. How dare you occupy all the slots?

I’m glad that Julia Garner was nominated for Ozark and Fiona Shaw was nominated for Killing Eve. But that’s it. Nothing for Susan Kalechi Watson, who was outstanding on This is Us? Nothing for Rhea Seehorn, who’s been extraordinary on Better Call Saul? Nothing for any of the great supporting leads on The Good Fight? I’d say there’s always next year, but next year, Handmaid’s Tales and Big Little Lies will overwhelm this category, and we’re not even in July!  Shame on you, Game of Thrones.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

I’m a little pissed that Handmaid’s Tale is here, but I am torn because I love Bradley Whitford and Cherry Jones. I’m also very satisfied by the lion’s share of the other nominees. I’m glad that they finally acknowledged Michael McKean for his great work as Chuck, even if it is in a flashback. And I’m glad to see Ron Cephas Jones and Michael Angrano acknowledged for their fine work on This is Us Less satisfied about Guest Actress, but Cicely Tyson remains the one unquestionably great thing about How To Get Away With Murder, and I’m thrilled to see even though Watson was ignored, her TV mom, Phylicia Rashad, was not. I’m pulling for her.

Stay tuned for my remarks about the Comedies, where I’m actually happier.

Deadwood Episode Guide: Boy-The-Earth-Talks-To

Written by Ted Mann

Directed by Ed Bianchi

This may be the pinnacle of Deadwood as a series. Not just in the way that it brings events in the second season to a close, and sets up things for the future, but in the way it shows everything that Milch and his cohorts do perfectly and succinctly.  You watch this episode and you realize this is why Peak TV gets such a name.

The key point in this series, of course, is the arrival of George Hearst. In his later writings on Deadwood, Milch said that he created Wolcott in order to understand the nature of Hearst. And initially, we don’t seem to realize what the murderous but refined geologist Wolcott and Hearst, who is clearly worth millions but admits that he’s more comfortable among ‘the color’, as he puts it, truly have in common. Perhaps Milch intended to give this as a demonstration early on, because our first impressions of Hearst are very deceptive.

Farnum, who was intimidated by Wolcott, is clearly terrified by Hearst. His mere presence seems to loosen his bowels in a way that not even his natural fear of Swearengen seems capable of overcoming. But this is meaningless because Farnum is intimidated by everybody and considered a non-person. When Hearst goes to see Al in the Gem, the two seem to talk nearly as equals – they talk as middle-aged men whose bodies are failing them. Swearengen is trying to negotiate a position of power, and Hearst seems more than willing to accommodate him – saying that he doesn’t seem to care about the power struggle between the celestials that has been going on for most of the season, and that nearly erupts at the beginning of the episode into a war in the early moments of the episode. He has no problem with Al endorsing Wu in the fight, and throwing the man who has served him so well under the bus. That in itself should tell us something – that to a man like Hearst, what makes up the struggles of day-to-day life are of no concern to him as long they resolve his way.

But we don’t begin to get a true sense of the nature of Hearst until Tolliver confronts him. He talks to him about all of his work, and then, just as he did with Wolcott, he begins to overplay his hand. It doesn’t seem like that at first; when he tells Hearst of everything he did in regard to the murders at the Chez Ami, Hearst seems utterly puzzled, and retreats to his room. It is now, literally, his room: Hearst casually purchases the hotel from Farnum as if you or I were buying breakfast.

The conversation between Wolcott and Hearst almost completely tells us everything we need to know about the two men:

HEARST: Ever since I was a child in Missouri, I’ve been down every hole I could find.

WOLCOTT: ‘Boy-The-Earth-Talks-To.’

HEARST: “Yeah, I’ve told you that’s what the Indians call me.

WOLCOTT: Yes

HEARST: Talks to you, too, Francis, I know. Our time together, your hearing has stayed keen. This gambler, Tolliver. Uh, who was our agent for securing the claims, has spoken to me about you. He says you’ve killed women. Prostitutes. And he has disposed of the bodies for you. (When Wolcott doesn’t respond) Well?!

HEARST: When I was in Campeche, you wrote a letter on my behalf.

HEARST: To the Jefe de Policia

WOLCOTT: “I am aware of Mr. Wolcott’s difficulty. You will find me personally grateful for any adjustments you may make in his case.” What did you think that was about?

HEARST: I didn’t think about it. You were my agent in Mexico. You had many responsibilities. You asked me for the letter and I wrote it.

WOLCOTT: As when the earth talks to you particularly, you never ask its reasons.

HEARST: I don’t need to know why I’m lucky.

WOLCOTT: Well, what if the earth talks to us to get us to arrange its amusement?

That is when we first realize the true danger of Hearst. He is horrified by what Wolcott has done, but only the sense for the affect it might have on his interests. And he is more upset that Wolcott has sullied what he considers his more important aspect than the murders he has committed with his permission. The severance he makes with Wolcott is not out of the destruction he has wrought, but because Tolliver is holding it over him.

And he recovers from it remarkably quickly. By the time he returns to the Bella Union, he is prepared to offer a payment to Tolliver. But once again, Tolliver misjudges his target. Claiming to say he hears the voice of God, he says is entitled to blackmail Hearst for more money because of proof of Wolcott’s crimes that we know he doesn’t have, and which Hearst could easily figure out Wolcott would never give him. Tolliver walks off, and then Hearst tells his second in command, Turner to find out if there’s proof.

But as much as Hearst is a presence within this episode, the majority of it belongs to Swearengen, as he exercises his command of the camp like a maestro conducting an orchestra. After Hearst leaves him, Jarry returns with the final offer from Yankton, and compared to Hearst, Al has no problem dealing with the elected official. He then calls upon Adams to help him parse the government document to try and figure out how to maneuver around the bureaucracy. After working around the cause of elections, he then operates against his interests and withdraws the demand for $50,000 from Yankton, reasoning that he’ll be able to continue fleecing everybody if they go through. He then calls upon the Commissioner and asks for Bullock’s presence: “And we’ll have a fucking quorum.”

The main event that focuses all the energy is the wedding between Ellsworth and Alma. Ellsworth is clearly dealing with his own set of nerves, as he asks Sol (who is apparently acting as father of the bride and best man) for help putting together his finery. Alma’s worries are deeper, but just like so many of the men in the camp; she is incapable of sharing them with another person. In a rarity for Deadwood, Milch has her express her feelings in an interior monologue to Brom, where she meshes her gratitude and horror at coming her, that she feels that her life has never been her own, and that she has a child coming and cares for one. It is hard to measure whether she really views her marriage to Ellsworth as a blessing or a curse, but as we will find out in the next season, there is another, darker reason that she may have decided to go forward.

Much of the rest of the episode deals with the preparations for the wedding. Jane and Joanie are dressing themselves in finery – Jane, as you can imagine with ill-grace because Joanie is following superstition about not wearing their mourning garb to the wedding. (The throwaway line that if you do so, both bride and groom are doomed is a prophecy that I wonder if Milch was considering at the time.)  Trixie is dressed in a fine gown by Jewel, who presents her with a broach. (When Trixie asks her how she got it, Jewel says: “I sold a piece of pussy.”)  When Trixie and Sol head to the ceremony, Al throws them a ‘gift’ (in actuality, the letter he received from Isringhausen). It’s meant for Alma, but the symbolism is clear: Al is blessing their relationship.

The actual ceremony is a powerful piece in itself: As Andy Cramed performs the marriage ceremony, in a series of Godfather like flashes, we see Seth and Al signing the offer to Yankton, Wolcott writing a letter and walking out of the hotel, Charlie is returning from his visit to Denver, and the various guests watching the ceremony. At the moment of the pronouncement, we heard the sound of a hammer against a wall. It is Hearst, breaking open a makeshift balcony, and the symbolism is equally clear.

We see a similar montage as the camp begins to dance at the wedding and celebrate: mainly Wu, Johnny, Dan and Adams, all dressed in celestial gear making their way into the Chinese section of the camp slowly killing all of Lee’s men. Lee himself is indulging in one of his whores, clearly in an opium stupor. The climax of the scene comes when Wu and the others return to the Gem, and Wu and Al exchange a glance, Wu cuts off his queue, and says:

Wu, America!

SWEARENGEN: That’ll hold you tight to her tit.

Al is clearly demonstrating himself as the master of events, but this is another fare-thee-well: he shall never be this powerful in the camp again.

Were it just for these elements this would be a mastery of work. But two more violent events occur that will be critical going forward. Andy Cramed is seen talking to Joanie and Jane, jesting about their own past relationships. Cy, still drunk from his dealings with Hearst, comes out, and again starts blasting Andy. Again he overplays his hand, and this time it nearly kills him: Summoning long-simmering rage: Cramed snarls: “God is not mocked, you son of a bitch,” and stabs Tolliver in the gut. Even Cy knows he’s gone to far, after initially saying he won’t die, he sounds genuinely afraid in his repeating of it.

Doc in the meantime looks at Mose, who seems well on the road to recovery. The two take their first steps outside, take deep breaths, and Doc walks away. Mose does the same, and just as he departs, we see the body of Wolcott drop from above with a noose around his neck. It is his final favor to the man he thinks he has disgraced.

One of the last people we see moving throughout the camp is Bullock. Earlier in the episode, he had a conversation with Martha in which she told him that she intended to stay in the camp and teach the children. Bullock is quiet throughout, and pointedly spends the dancing in the Gem, before Swearengen tells him: “Don’t you have a fucking home to go to?” Not even Al seems entirely sure what Bullock will do when he leaves. As he exits the Gem, he and Alma share a long look just as she is getting on to a cart with her husband and daughter. There is a very long pause, before Al almost gently reminds Seth where his home is. With the sounds of Merrick announcing that elections are to come for Deadwood, Seth heads to his home, and Alma leaves to hers.

If this had been the last episode of Deadwood, it still could’ve stood as a complete body of work, no matter how truncated compared to its fellow series. As it is, Boy-The-Earth-Talks-To remains a truly magnificent achievement that the series, despite numerous great moments to come, will never quite reach again.

Better Late Than Never: Russian Doll

Natasha Lyonne is one of those actresses who, despite breaking fairly big early in films, never quite achieved superstardom. Best known for her work as Jessica in the first two American Pie movies, she mainly worked in the independent film circuit in breakout roles in unconventional films such as Slums of Beverly Hills and But I’m a Cheerleader. After spending much of the 2000s in small roles unworthy of her, Lyonne had two options: she could have tried writing her own movies (a move the late Adrienne Shelley, a woman with similar difficulties was trying before her untimely murder), or she could try television. She aimed towards the latter, working regularly in series and animations before hitting the lottery as Nucky Nichols in the series that put so many great actresses on the map – Orange is the New Black.

Now, just before turning forty – an age that used to symbolize the death knell for so many actress – she has written (in collaboration with Amy Poehler) Russian Doll. There may be a certain symbolism in the concept of the series – a woman constantly dying before she can get any older - which will seem familiar to anyone who has seen Groundhog Day. Lyonne plays Nadia Vulvokov, a woman who in the pilot is having her thirty-sixth birthday at a friend’s apartment in Manhattan. She takes a hit on a specially made joint laced with cocaine, she gets drunk, she tries to pick up a teacher who’s not quite married but not quite divorced. She complains about the fact that her cat Oatmeal has disappeared. She leaves the party, with the intent of hooking up with him. She sees her cat, runs across the street to get him, and is hit by a taxi. She then regains consciousness in the party. Nadia is understandably confused, so she stays at the party, and leaves much later. She runs into her cat a little later, then falls backwards and drowns in the East River. She wakes up in the party.

There is a bloodthirstiness to much of the comedy in Russian Doll, at least in the first two episodes. In the second episode, she trips over an open grating from one side and dies; next time out, she trips into from the other side. She then spends the next four times trying to leave the party, and each time falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. Then she stays in the party for the full night, has a fun time, and exits via the fire escape. She goes to see a psychiatrist friend of hers, Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley) discusses her genuine fear of what is happening to her (there is clearly a history of insanity in her family) and she asks to put on a psychiatric hold. When Ruth says Bellevue, Nadia asked: “Is that the best facility?” Ruth honestly answers: “It’s the closest.” She’s evaluated in the ambulance, but then she starts an arguments which leads to a collision. She now seems to be in joyous stage of immorality. What she didn’t notice was that flowers, which were blooming in the Pilot have become to wilt.

There’s a lot to like about Russian Doll. I like the very black humor about it and the heroine in general. (There are a couple of lesbian orgies we see the aftermath of.) And Lyonne is genuinely good at her work. I can understand now why she’s high on the list for Best Actress in a Comedy at this year’s Emmys.  The problem I have with the series is the premise. It’s a great one for a movie, but I have no idea how it could work for a high concept drama, much less a Netflix comedy. (Netflix apparently doesn’t have any such doubts; the series was renewed for a second season in June.) It works a lot better as a character piece, and there are some great throwaway jokes (I love how she keeps coming to in a restroom and Nadia keeps getting angry at the two women who come in whenever she leaves), but it’s still a high concept, and those famously have had problems being resolved.

For now, I’m going to give Lyonne and Russian Doll the benefit of the doubt. I’ll work my way through the first season. I just hope that when I get through, Netflix won’t force me to go through it from the beginning. Again and again.

My score: 3.5 stars.

A Look at The Television Critics Nominations

As I mentioned in an article last year, I learned far too late that there was yet another award recognizing the best in television: the Television Critics Awards. I was flattened to realize they’d existed for thirty-five years before, and much like Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap, they had spent that time putting right what so often the Emmys does wrong, and recognizing some of the greatest series in TV history. A partial glimpse of their past winners include Sports Night, Homicide, The Good Wife, and most recently, The Americans (three times!). They’ve also recognized some actors the Emmys kept ignoring, such as Michael C. Hall, Ian McShane and Rachel Bloom. Not bad for an institution that only has one category for nominated actors in both comedy and drama.

So this year, I decided to try and take a look at the Critics Awards before the Emmy Nods came out to see if they’d give additional clarity. Imagine my joy when I went to their website, and learned what should have been obvious: they give out nominations before they choose their awards.

Obviously, I will be spending the next few weeks trying to track down their nomination process and see what other great series and actors they consider. But for now, I’m going to focus on the series and actors they chose to nominate in the major categories for this year. And unlike the Emmys, I actually like most of the nominees

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Should I be angry that actors in Limited Series are competing against actors in dramas? Should I be angry that both actors and actresses are competing in all categories? Perhaps. But when the talent includes Amy Adams, Patricia Arquette, and Christine Baranski for the Limited series, and Jodie Comer, Billy Porter and Christine Baranski for the other, can one really quibble? I might argue that if they separated for Limited series, they might find room for Sam Rockwell, Benicio Del Toro and Bob Odenkirk, but Hell. I think I’ll give them discretion. Considering that all of these actors will be in the forefront of the categories, I can’t complain.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

Apart from the ubiquitous presence of Julia-Louis Dreyfus – she’s won quite enough awards in the past decade, thank you – everyone else is a good choice. Bill Hader and Pamela Adlon are both superb, and having seen the first couple of episodes of Russian Doll, I’m inclined to give Natasha Lyonne a green light. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has spent the last couple of years becoming a force in British television, so its fitting she gets a nod for her last chance for Fleabag. Would I have liked to see Eugene Levy nominated? But Catherine O’Hara’s a national treasure. Would be nice to have seen Jim Carrey or Issa Rae, but these are good choices.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIE OR MINISERIES

No one can argue with Chernobyl, Deadwood: The Movie, Escape at Dannemora, Fosse/Verdon or Sharp Objects. Certainly not me. I’m not as certain about When They See Us – I’d have preferred to see maybe A Very English Scandal – but this is a good group, and a fine measure of the great limited series that came this year.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

The critical difference. No Game of Thrones. And this is an organization that recognized in the past. Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, The Good Fight, Homecoming and Pose are all superb examples of what television is capable of, and all have excellent chances to be in the fight. I’m a little less certain about Succession, but the buzz for it has been building over the last year. All in all, this is a good bunch.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

And they’re willing to go to seven nominations. Well done. Barry, The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Fleabag are all worthy. I’m inclined to give a similar pass to Russian Doll after I see a few more episodes. Schitt’s Creek has more than earned its spot here. I’m a little mixed on Veep’s presence, but given how exceptional the finale was, it would have been hard to ignore it.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SKETCH/VARIERTY SHOWS

What do you know? Some variety! Stephen Colbert and John Oliver are here. But so is Samantha Bee. And Seth Meyers (yeah!) And Desus and Mero (double yeah!) I don’t know if “I Think You Should Leave” is as good as say, Random Acts of Flyness or Tracey Ullman, but then again, HBO has enough recognition already.

I’ll pass on Outstanding New Program because I didn’t actually see most of them/.

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

Here’s my only real nit to pick. If Game of Thrones isn’t good enough to be considering the Outstanding Drama of the year, why is it okay for Program of the Year? This may be the only real category where the Critics seem to be considering that this might be a popularity contest. Which is odd, because none of the other nominees – Chernobyl, Fleabag, Russian Doll, Pose, and When They See Us – fit in that kind of way. And they all have multiple nominations. Game of Thrones does not. I don’t think the Critics will pick this way – but I think by putting it here, they are hedging their bets. And that’s unfortunate. You’re critics, not the People’s Choice Awards.

All in all, though, the nominations here make be proud to be in the profession I’m in. I guess its true what they say about great minds. I’ll try and check the Peabodys later.