When director Steven Soderbergh and Clive Owen went to Cinemax with their 1900’s set television series about imperfect doctors and surgeons saving lives and destroying themselves in New York, people were surprised. Rightfully. Cinemax had a handful of series to its name, including the breakout smash hit, Banshee. For Oscar caliber actors and directors to set up shop there was a huge turning point for the premium cable provider. After years of lurking in the shadows behind its brother affiliate, HBO, shows like The Knick have put Cinemax on the map and for good reason. It’s a brilliant, fresh, and different kind of TV show. As Season 2 debuts this week, let’s talk about the Knick.
If you are bored of the elementary “been there seen that” network television fall schedule, give The Knick a look. Here’s a show that takes you back to the age where technology and equipment didn’t save lives. Doctors, surgeons and nurses did it with their bare hands. This is where the birth of the X-Ray machine is treated like a revolutionary movement and where a device with an ability to suction the fluid out of a body being operated on is treated with a wide gaze of amazement.
The plot of The Knick is simplistic enough to support the amazing history lesson being dished out. Clive Owen’s Dr. Thackery is the most talented and revered blade in the land, the last stop to save a life. His consists of Dr. Gallinger(Eric Johnson) and Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr.(Michael Angarano). The arrival of the brilliant yet unrecognized Dr. Algeron Edwards(Andre Holland) throws a wrench into this team and also helps them evolve as doctors. The bigger problem is Thackery’s substance abuse problem.
There are plenty of players in this show. There’s also the tough yet tender heart of Chris Sullivan’s Cleary, a man who collects bodies yet cares for just a few. There’s Barrow, the boss of the Knick who is up to his knees in gambling debts and has a complexity to his ambition that keeps you watching. There’s Eve Hewson’s Nurse Lucy, a woman torn between her love for Thack and her own well being. This show balances plot threads, historical reveals and the up and down torment of Thackery seamlessly.
Creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler work with Soderbergh(who directed all 20 episodes) to create a world that feels like it existed in real life and also came to life in somebody’s imagination. It’s cold, wet, blurry, black and blue, and full of lust and ambition.
When he isn’t making breakthroughs in medicine or saving lives in “the theater”, Thackery fancies him some opium, among other drugs. He can relax in a brothel or he can shoot the stuff into his toes before surgeries. Here is the world’s most imperfect man doing God’s work but also tempting fate every time he gets high. Flawed people doing great work while destroying themselves in the process. Instead of worrying about losing a patient on the table, Thackery is afraid of being outdone by rival doctors and losing grasp of his legacy. As Season 1 progressed, Thackery’s condition worsened as he became addicted to cocaine.
It’s a treat to watch an amazing actor of Owen’s depth rip into this role. While he has given high quality performances before, Thack is a role that allows every inch of The Brit’s charisma, ferocity and madness to shine. You feel like you are seeing this actor for the first time come alive in front of you. If there was ever a role to match virtuoso, it’s Owen on The Knick.
The real star of this show may be Soderbergh himself. Along with directing, he creates the beautifully blunt cinematography and edits the series as well. It’s an all hands on deck operation and Soderbergh has found his groove in a place few expected to find him. Ask me and Cinemax fits him more than one would think. It’s edgy without being showy. The Knick has depth without being overly complex. As most cable shows are, The Knick feels like a ten hour film slowly dealt out to viewers. It’s unpredictable and raw.
The Knick, in more ways than one, is the show I have been waiting for. While I liked parts of Greys Anatomy and ER, I had a desire for a real look inside a hospital. A blunt knife instead of a bendable toy. Soderbergh, Amiel and Begler’s show pulls zero punches and doesn’t let their characters off the hook. If you think Owen’s mad hatter gets clean in Season 2, you are wrong. If you think Lucy figures things out over a latte and friends, you are wrong. The Knick takes you back to a day and age where nothing was guaranteed and that includes your 30’s. Diseases won the fights back then and people like Thackery and Edwards could only throw as many punches as they could.
Do yourself a favor. Watch the first season of The Knick and then go walk into a modern hospital. If that isn’t a trip, I don’t know what is.
Lamar Odom is fighting for his life right now after an eventful three day binge in the Nevada brothel called The Love Ranch. This love shack is owned by Dennis Hof, the same guy who owns the Bunny Ranch, which a few HBO subscribers may have seen on Cathouse. Odom’s case is unfortunate but I don’t get the pity party and outcry for sympathy. I don’t feel sorry for the guy, even as his life hangs on a ventilator right now.
First, I agree with the stupid notion that calling Odom a reality TV star is coarse and inaccurate. He is a NBA championship ring owner and respected talent. He’s also a man suffering from depression as his marriage to Khloe Kardashian came to its final stages over the past few weeks. I understand depression but I won’t sit here and feel overly sorry for a guy who snorted cocaine, sexual enhancers and whatever else existed at the Love Ranch in powder form. It’s another case of sports fans feeling like they have to stop their own life and feel sorry for a rich guy who made some bad choices.
Odom is more than likely a good guy who bought his teammates shoes and treated them like brothers. That’s great to hear. He seems like a well meaning guy who has gone off the deep end. I just won’t feel too sorry for him. This has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with perspective.
There are several people around the world and even athletes who are dealing with a worse shake than Odom. Kids battling diseases. Adults battling diseases. Unfortunate cases without a happy resolution. My mom works as a nurse at a St. Louis Hospital so I understand sad stories. My dad, now retired, worked for decades at a hospital and told my brother and I painful stories about what he saw.
There’s sadness and despair all over this world and it is far worse than a former NBA star dealing with depression by sinking his sorrows into various drugs at a brothel. When I am feeling down, I get a bag of skittles, a quart of ice cream or maybe a glass of whiskey and drink until I feel numb to pain as I sit in my office. That’s a rough night for me folks. No naked bodies, drugs or desolate parking lots needed. This isn’t the first time Odom has partied beyond his bodily limits either so let’s not feel too sorry for him.
Lamar Odom was chasing a lot more than depression out there in the desert. His problems run much deeper and will need tons of reshaping if he makes it out of this ordeal alive. It’s unfortunate yet not tear inducing.
Odom needs serious help. He doesn’t need a pity party.
It’s over. The 2015 St. Louis Cardinals are done. The Chicago Cubs, via a fiery lineup and surprisingly solid bullpen, knocked out the Birds at Wrigley Field. The Cubs first playoff series win in 12 years happened for many reasons but I’ll toss five at you as the nerves go on ice for the offseason.
I’ll be honest and say it hurts. Seeing another team celebrate in front of your team is an event I can’t say someone should ever get used to. It’s ugly. You can’t say there will be another game tomorrow. You can’t say there’s a chance. It’s over and the dust settles and lockers are cleaned out.
5. Too much power from Chicago. Anthony Rizzo. Kris Bryant. Kyle Schwarber. Javier Baez. Addison Russell. List goes on and on. Schwarber hit a mammoth shot that hasn’t even landed yet. Rizzo wrongly predicted the NL Central winner but his smoked solo blast was the deciding blow in Game 4. While the Cards hit eight home runs, the Cubs made their ten blasts count and had more men on base for a few of them. They are a tough team to play in Wrigley and showed their ability to change a game instantly with the long ball. Cards couldn’t keep up.
4. Mike Matheny’s decisions. Once again, the skipper made some questionable calls, especially at Wrigley. In a tight five game series, every move will be scrutinized. Matheny refused to pitch Tyler Lyons, a guy capable of throwing 2-3 innings, for the entire series. He brought in Kevin Siegrist in the 5th and 6th innings, which didn’t end well. He pulled Seth Maness in the middle of an inning when he needed a double play and brought in Adam Wainwright, who immediately allowed a two run Game 3 deciding home run to Jorge Soler. Matheny wasn’t the main reason, as many on Twitter will point out, the Cards lost but he made some dicey moves that shouldn’t be overlooked. He also started Jaime Garcia with a stomach virus when Lyons was down there. The same Lyons who took over for Carlos Martinez after three batters in a late September game.
3. The plate discipline left the window. The Cardinals tried to impersonate the Cubs and became home run hitters. They struck out over 48 times in the series, averaging 12 per game. They struck out 27 times in their last 54 at bats. They swung at pitches in the dirt or at their chin. Sure, the strike zone was bad for the majority of the series, but that doesn’t excuse the terrible plate discipline by this team. They drew walks but struck out far too often.
3a.-The veterans coming up short. Matt Holliday hit .129 in the series, hitting third. Jhonny Peralta hit .143 and batted fifth. Both unacceptable.
2. The bullpen got smoked,with the biggest culprit being Siegrist. The guy led the National League in appearances in 2015, threw a lot of pitches and was fatigued but saw himself entering the game midway. He served up a bomb to Rizzo on Monday night. He entered on Tuesday with the game tied at 4 and promptly hung a pitch for Rizzo to blast into nearly the same spot. Siegrist missed location horribly on both pitches. He finished by serving up a majestic blast to Kyle Schwarber that left the stadium, 418 feet away. In 2013, Siegrist was unhittable until late September and got beat by David Ortiz and the Red Sox in the World Series. Two years later, he failed to pitch well in the playoffs. He wasn’t alone in bullpen blasting but he is the guy who stands out. As a reliever, you have to be efficient with your pitches and keep the game in hand. Siegrist did not and got smoked. Maybe next year don’t make him throw so many pitches. Anyway…
1. The Jaime Garcia implosion. As the Cards faced elimination, I kept wondering how the series would have went if Game 2 went a different way. As in, what if Garcia didn’t start and Lyons did. What if the enigmatic starter known as Jaime didn’t wait until an hour before the game to tell Matheny he was very sick and take the mound again in the playoffs impaired. Or, what if Garcia fields that bunt cleanly and flips to Yadier Molina to nail Austin Jackson at home plate? What if the Cubs don’t score 5 runs that inning? What if the Cards win Game 2 and don’t need to start John Lackey on short rest in Game 4? All these conundrums and so much time to answer them. Starting a sick Jaime Garcia was a costly and stupid move. Most of that fault falls on the player for not admitting sickness earlier, thus putting his own legacy(or need to remake it) in front of team importance.
Yeah, there’s more. Lackey serving up a two out RBI single to Jason Hammel that preceded the Baez home run. Kolten Wong hitting .143 and swinging at everything in the dirt. Mark Reynolds breaking windows in batting practice but whiffing in real games. Yadier Molina playing badly hurt without an ability to hit. There are more things but the five above explain the meat of the reason the Cards aren’t advancing.
It’s over folks. The 2015 Cardinals took us on a ride that we won’t soon forget, for better or worse. It was thrilling, frustrating and ultimately disappointing while being impressive at the same time. Despite injuries, they won 100 games. In the end, the pitching broke down and the bats couldn’t keep up. 2016 holds a lot of questions, mostly fun and interesting. For now, ice the mind and toss the stress in the trash can. There’s plenty of time in the next six months to think about what could have been.
I’m a little late here as Wednesday turns into Thursday but bare with me. A stay at home dad/writer doesn’t really keep track of time so the hell with it. Rapid fire style. No fancy routes taken. Let’s run.
Does being a bad parent mean your kid can work a remote instead of the alphabet?
What if pillows didn’t fold?
What if bacon wasn’t crispy?
What if drivers didn’t have to follow a speed limit and instead use their better judgement?
What if all we had was classic Folgers?
What was breakup texting before cellphones? Post it notes.
What if Siri was a vegetarian and wouldn’t search restaurants with meat?
What if Siri told you to go fuck yourself?
What would men do if they didn’t have hair on their legs?
What would women do without yoga pants?
What if fat guys couldn’t wear sleeveless shirts?
What if aliens were asked to summarize earth and its inhabitants and they held up a picture of a crowded McDonald’s playground?
What exactly does a hockey player want to do to the other team after they get eliminated in the playoffs? It’s not shake their fucking hand.
What if Hollywood couldn’t reboot, remake, adapt or make sequels out of older films?
How full of shit is Sarah Palin exactly? Does she know?
What if Donald Trump could never say the word “billions” again?
What if NFL referees governed traffic instead of cops? Would holding be comparable to not letting someone in your lane?
What if there were no umpires and robots called balls and strikes? How would managers argue?
What if women didn’t have hair straighteners?
What if guys couldn’t shave their head?
How do you feel about it being hot all year?
What if you made a single woman choose between a carton of ice cream, a glass of wine or a bad rom com?
What if a guy had to choose between shaving cream, chicken wings and Stallone?
What if a big budget movie performed badly, the actors would have to refund their salaries? Maybe Robert DeNiro and Samuel L. Jackson would choose less shittier films.
What if wrestlers couldn’t become actors?
What if Michael Bay wasn’t allowed to blow things up on a movie?
Last but not least. What if Steve Jobs didn’t go to work?
Every TV show has to have a hook in order to get your attention.
There’s simply too much on the tube these days to simply be good on the surface and get people to reserve a room in their world of make believe. Well, Direct TV’s hit series, Kingdom, will get you in the door and make you want to stay for a long time with its balanced concoction of fists, heart, blood and the family ties that tie them together and tear them apart the next day. The creator and executive producer, Byron Balasco, has always been a fan of the MMA arena and its inhabitants, but he wanted to make something more than just a show about fighting. What do these guys go home to and how much fuel does a single fight give somebody?
I came onto Kingdom due to my “watch anything with Frank Grillo in it” natural law, so when he mentioned a little MMA show called Kingdom in a 2014 conversation, I had to give it a look. Without Direct TV, I had to wait a year to watch but quickly consumed the 10 episodes and I strongly suggest you do as well.
This past week, I talked to Balasco over the phone about the raw power of Season 1 and what to expect when Season 2 premieres on October 14th.
Dan Buffa-What made you want to get into the world of MMA?
Byron Balasco-I’ve been a fan of the sport for many years even before it became what it is now. It was so interesting to see people get in a cage and fight for a living. The more I knew these people, the more interesting it became. As a writer, you are always looking for great worlds to set your characters in. Finding the best places to tell these stories. MMA seemed to be rife with opportunity. It’s a subject matter that doesn’t get a lot of networks excited because they feel it’s a world they know little about. It’s marketed as this hyper aggressive meat headed sort of stuff, and while it’s got some of that, these are real people with real lives with families. Instead of pitching the idea, I just wrote it myself so I could show them what it could be in the best way possible. Its a character drama. Endemol got a hold of it and understood it and were passionate about it. Direct TV jumped in for 10 episodes and we were off.
Buffa-I feel like you really lay your stamp on it with these hardened, dirty, flawed characters that we don’t see much around television. These are honest, real and imperfect people. I really liked that.
Balasco-That is the thing. What they are struggling with is what everybody deals with in their lives. However, I wanted to represent that world so sometimes they are a little more aggressive about it. They are more extreme. Writing them honestly and our cast is committed to playing it honestly makes it work. They give it that lived in feeling. You buy into these people.
Buffa-How important is Frank Grillo to this show? He seems to be the captain of that ship.
Balasco-He was the first one I brought on. The first piece of casting. Part of getting the show going was finding our Alvey. Frank’s name kept popping up to me. He was the first person I thought of. He wasn’t sure he wanted to do television but he read the script and we did a skype and within 20 seconds, we knew this was going to happen. He knows the world so intimately and he’s been doing it for 25 years. He’s been boxing his whole life so we could speak that same language. The places where I wanted to take the character were in line with places he wanted to explore as an actor. We made a pact that if we were going to do this, let’s do this all out.
Buffa-When I talked to Grillo the first time, he told me about people calling him up to have him train them after they saw the film, Warrior. He’s so authentic. You don’t meet Frank’s every day.
Balasco-There’s never a false note when he’s on set. You don’t feel like it’s work. It just seems natural.
Buffa-One of the strong points of Kingdom is balancing the ring aspect and the family part of the story. Was that important to you?
Balasco-That was very important. You have to have some fighting because that’s the world they are in and the stakes they are facing, but if you do a fight every episode, it gets monotonous. If they want to watch a fight every episode, they’ll find a real fight to watch. I really wanted to tell a story about these people’s lives.
Buffa-Direct TV gave your show a two season(20 episode) pickup. Was that surprising and did that give you some freedom in mapping out your story?
Balasco-It was very exciting. I was in France at Cannes selling the show and got the call. As far as changing my approach, I can look a little ahead and lay things out differently. However, we do go season to season. We are not a big plot driven show. It’s about the characters, so each season is a chapter in their lives. This show lends itself to that kind of storytelling. Yes, its nice to know we have a little bit of time, but it doesn’t change the way we attack a season.
Buffa-This characters are intense with some very intense scenes. How do these actors get worked up? Is there red bull drinking challenge in a steam room or something?
Balasco-All of these guys train incredibly hard and consistently. They train with real fighters on our set keeping us real. We all are a family who loves each other so there is a camaraderie. There is also a competition among them as well. They are brothers. You love them but you don’t want to be the weak link. Everybody, including Kiele and Joanna, shows up wanting to kill it. Everybody really cares and lives in these roles so it lends a sense of authenticity. We are also open to discover stuff on set and I will make a change on set if it makes the scene feel more natural.
Buffa-The great TV shows always feel like a family driven operation and not just a job. You guys are getting down in the trenches to create something special.
Balasco-That’s exactly right. This cast has a lot of chemistry together so it comes out.
Buffa-Season 1 left characters in a seemingly successful if jaded position. Fights in the ring were won but maybe lost on the homefront. Where does Season 2 open things up at?
Balasco-Some time has passed. There has been some success and they are in a new gym but still hanging by a thread. It’s like “you get ten extra bucks but you spend ten extra bucks.” That struggle is still real. There have been some changes. Alvey and Lisa are still trying to make it work. I don’t want to give too much away. The theme of this next season is the painful ascent. With success, it doesn’t always drag everybody at the same pace. It changes the dynamics and awakens new tensions among people.
Buffa-Alvey was telling Lisa early on in Season 1 about the threat of expanding. When you have this little indie family gym, it’s hard but it is yours. With more money, you invite more snakes in the den.
Balasco-You wonder why you are doing it? That’s a big part of the show. It was in the first season and will be in every season that comes after it. You fight so hard and chase something and nothing changes. You still have to deal with yourself and relate to the people in your life.
Buffa-It’s like a drug. It’s satisfying but you are always left wanting more and feeling unsatisfied. As a writer, I have homework for life because it’s always about the next story I write.
Balasco-Always. I’m telling you. Every time I finish a script, I feel good for half a day and then I start thinking about the next one and how it has to be better than the last. It never ends.
Buffa-You’ve come onto something really special here and are the first show to truly tackle MMA. In the press notes, it says to go with the Ronda Rousey craze, in season 2, there is a female fighter joining the ring.
Balasco-Honestly, that was a little less a Ronda Rousey thing and really from the fact I spend a lot of time in gyms and there’s female fighters in every gym. I go up to Albuquerque with Craig Jackson and hang out with him a lot. He trains some of the best fighters in the world and has women in his gym all the time. We want to be authentic and be real to the world. To not do that was a big glaring hole in our roster. The trick was finding the right actress. I worked with Natalie Martinez from a show I did called Detroit 187. She is a fighter in real life and can kick ass in real life. We have a great fight with her this season and she put everything into it. It pumped up the guys seeing her in it.
People can watch and enjoy a TV show but if you want people to love your show and talk about it in the street, at the gym, in restaurants and around the bars, it has to be authentic. In order to be authentic, the creator, crew and everybody involved must care about what they are doing. It’s their faces, heart and souls out there. Balasco, directors Gary Fleder and Michael Morris among others, the writers along with Grillo, Jonathan Tucker, Matt Lauria, Kiele Sanchez, Joanna Going, Nick Jonas, Mac Brandt and anybody else getting punched all care about making this show perfect. They sink all they have into it. It starts and ends with Balasco, the guy who wanted to put a unique twist on television and the world of MMA. He’s done other shows like Without a Trace and Huff, but Kingdom is his domain and that is felt in every scene of this show.
The second season premieres on October 14th, so you have plenty of time to watch the 10 episodes from season 1, join a gym, start punching things and get pumped up about season 2. It’s not just television. It’s a slice of life that combines the brutality of the ring with the fierce battlefield of a home.
Wrap your hands and head to Itunes, ladies and gents! Come October 14th, watch this show. If you don’t have Direct TV, make friends with someone who does, even if their apartment sucks and they are annoying.
This is it, folks. A 162 game season comes down to a do or die at Wrigley Field today for the St. Louis Cardinals. Most of you won’t get to see the game, and for that some should be thankful. Just listen to the cubicle next to you. Listen for the screams, cries and excitement. Baseball is a game of endurance and stress trading spots on a bus heading towards the brutal cold of winter.
After dropping Games 2 and 3 to the Cubs, the Cards are against the wall, scratching for space. Things started swimmingly on Friday night and suddenly took a detour away from Pleasantville. Things went terribly wrong. For once, the bats escape blame and the pitching is the culprit. How things have changed for the team with the most wins in baseball and best overall pitching staff.
While Game 2 was a breakdown in fundamentals, Game 3 was a launching pad. A Michael Bay film instead of a dynamic chess duel in the vein of The Hunt for Red October. A stunt sequence. The Cubs hit six home runs Monday night off Cardinals pitching, including three off Michael Wacha and one off Adam Wainwright. Yes, the Waino that some wanted to see start for Wacha. No pitcher went unscathed last night. Everybody had a stain on their shoulders.
Sure, Wacha’s 5th inning was ill fated. He got through four innings while allowing only two runs to a dangerous lineup but Mike Matheny sent him back out there for a third trip through the order. Even though he was hanging his curve and couldn’t locate his changeup. Wacha went out there and Kris Bryant hammered a two run home run. Kevin Siegrist came in for the 182nd time in 2015 and served up a blast to Anthony Rizzo.
After the bats drew the game to 5-4, Seth Maness came in, recorded an out and allowed a scratch single. Suddenly, Matheny wanted to bring in Wainwright. Why? I have no idea. The Cards needed a groundball and Maness is the best at getting those. Everybody wearing blue at Wrigley knew Wainwright throws a first pitch fastball. He did and Jorge Soler hammered his second home of the series, a blast that would prove to be the game winner. Just look at Waino’s face after Stephen Piscotty’s meaningless two run home run in the 9th. The heartbreak was deafening.
Here they are. Tuesday afternoon. Down 2-1 in the series and desperately needing to get this series back to Busch Stadium for a winner take all Game 5. Can they make it happen? Can the Cards pull out a victory at Wrigley?
The ball will be handed to John Lackey on three days rest. By now, more than a few people have told you his stats on this kind of rest. Two decent starts. Both taking place over ten years ago. Expecting anything more than 5-6 innings out of Lackey today is crazy. He’s 36 year old and pitching in a sandbox with high winds. If he keeps the Cards in the game, fans should be grateful.
This game will come down to the bullpen doing a good job. The Cards bats aren’t full throttle wrecking balls this series but they have a pulse. Jason Hammel is a hittable pitcher whom the Cards have beaten up this season for seven earned runs in 10 innings of work. Runs will be pushed across the plate but can the pen protect a lead?
Jonathan Broxton shouldn’t be allowed to pitch. He’s good for a home run or two baserunners per inning these days. Adam Wainwright should only START an inning. If needed, Lance Lynn should be used today. He was supposed to pitch anyway and can give the Cards big innings if needed. Tyler Lyons is down there somewhere and can be valuable. Jaime Garcia SHOULD NOT pitch. He’s never pitched out of relief and making his first time happen in a raucous environment against a power crazy team wouldn’t be wise. Save him for Game 5.
Can the Cards bullpen hold the Cubs off if they are handed a lead? That is the story heading into Game 4. Watch if you dare!
This do or die status is nothing new for the Birds. In 2011, they were down 2-1 against Philadelphia and came back to win game 5 in that classic Carpenter-Halladay showdown. They were down 2-1 against Pittsburgh in 2013 and came back on the road in Game 4 to force a Game 5 at home which they won. It’s not impossible and a situation the team has grown quite comfortable in.
The brutal part is the idea of losing to the Cubs but ladies and gents, this is a 97 win team. They aren’t a band of scrubs. They are good and will be for the foreseeable future. Get used to these battles in the NL Central. This NLDS is a preview of things to come.
Just don’t count the Cards out yet. The Cubs won’t be doing that after seeing their untouchable ace pitcher, Jake Arrieta, allow four earned runs Monday night for the first time since mid June. Both of these teams are great. For all the offense that has been on display this week, it will come down to which bullpen can be more effective. That’s it.
January 29th, 2016. The final season of Cinemax’s wonderfully pulp smash hit, Banshee, fires up its fourth and final season. Like a steak getting thrown on a grill, this final season has many flavors that the creators and cast hope to contain before the episodes unfold. For now, all fans can do is sit at their computer screen and watch this brand new trailer(which debuted at New York’s Comic Con this past week) about 57 times and smolder in anticipation. The best shows leave just enough juice dripping next to their audiences outstretched hands. Here’s what I got from the 72 second clip.
*Job’s captor has been found, captured and punched. The clip opens with Lucas, Carrie, and Sugar overlooking Stowe’s techie dude who drugged and snatched the lovable Job at the end of Season 3’s climatic shootout. Will he tell them where Job is? Does he even know? Is Dalton involved? Does anyone know where Jimmy Hoffa is while we are on the subject? I kid, I kid. The location of Hoon Lee’s irreplaceable(yeah you can replace Spider Man and Batman 30 times but you CAN NOT replace Job) hacker is the centerpiece of Season 4’s beginning.
“Let’s finish it.”A sense of finality overwhelms this trailer and truly informs the viewer these worlds are colliding fast and ending with brute force.
*Carrie’s loading up with guns. Why not? She wants to know where Job is and for good reason. Ever since he judged her outfit that first night in the club before the jewel heist, he has been family to our beloved safecracker. Job got Ana a new life and a way out way back when before Lucas(or Gary?) got out of prison and brought hell with him. She lost Gordon at the end of Season 3 and is pissed. She still has her kids, but I feel like this Carrie has more edge and spice to her than ever. And Ivana Milicevic is a badass. She needs to be in more movies. In black leather. Kicking, punching and shooting devilish stares at people. The world may spin properly.
*Hey, Lucas has hair! What the heck? Who hid the razor!?! I actually like the new look on our rugged sinner with a heart of gold, Mr. Hood. Lawmen have to look tidy and sharp, and Lucas is a badge no more. Why is Lucas Hood so invigorating to watch? Well, Antony Starr spends 365 days a year figuring out new ways to be awesome at this role that millions adore and the work shows in every scene. The way he looks at the camera in front of the police photo booth. The way he can stare at someone and seem to be mentally kicking their butt. Our scrappy Rocky with a chip on his shoulder won’t stop fighting until he feels like everyone in his life is safe. In Banshee, that’s scheduled for sometime in 2025. Good luck, Lucas. It’s a good thing we like watching him take a punch. He doesn’t know how to quit wrecking lives and the audience doesn’t know how to stop watching him do it. Wish the marriage could go on but the world isn’t supposed to be perfect so….
“I won’t give it(Banshee) up without a fight.”The soulful and much needed presence of Matt Servitto’s Brock Lotus seems to be talking to Lucas here about a final plea to defend his town, Banshee. There seems to be a mysterious character in a hoodie that shows up to make Brock’s life a living hell here. The crutch of the show’s immorality and violence is Brock and his desire to not just partake in the madness but try to understand it. The way he asked Lucas in New Orleans about WHY they do what they do and go after the revenge. The bridge between justice and revenge…how small or long is it? At the heart of that question is Servitto’s cop who desperately clings to the goodness left in him.
*Hello Eliza Dushku. She enters the picture as Special Agent Veronica Dawson. She specializes in violent crimes, which means she showed up to Banshee 30 hours late. She is going to be a thorn in Brock, Lucas, Kai Proctor and pretty much anyone who harms another this season. I haven’t seen enough of this talented actress lately but I am glad she is in town bleeding and fighting with the rest. It isn’t like she is beautiful or anything to boot.
*What’s happening with the Proctor clan tripod? What are Matthew Rauch’s Clay Burton and Lili Simmons’ Rebecca Bowman doing behind Proctor’s back that makes her worry? Are they dealing drugs behind his back? Is there is a breakdown in the deal with the Armenians? As always, strange dealings there.
*I don’t care if they left Season 3 sitting next to each other on a piece of lumber without the need to punch each other. Lucas and Kai are going to clash. The three seasons have danced around them like a devil around a fire and they will lock horns. Lucas just doesn’t have to worry about the badge getting in the way but, as we see him being hauled in by Brock, maybe he finds himself back in a cage for the first time since he left prison. Agent Dawson is right. There is more criminal than cop in Lucas and that is why she should be worried about him the most.
It’s always the evil side of humans that sneaks up on people. Especially between men and women. What an interesting dance of feels. Everybody has a choice to be good or bad, but the cruelness of humans always cuts deeper at first sight. Write that down, Agent Dawson.
“Power comes from being willing to do whatever it takes.” You are right Mr. Chris Coy, coming back at Kurt Bunker’s evil brother who left a smoky stamp on the deputy’s chest at the end of season 3. He may be a bad man, but he knows what it takes to stand on top. You have to refuse to see the harm you are doing because you believe that it is the right path to ride out.
What else?
*Proctor talking to Carrie for the first time, reminding her that kids’ futures are at stake.
*Carrie rocking a torch. Yeah, there’s nothing Milicevic(get her name right or she’ll knock you out) can’t do.
*Burton breaks out the chainsaw because…well, Burton likes chainsaws. Not sure why it took the bosses three years to make Matty Rauch a regular. He’s a much needed batch of mystery! For anyone who may get the opportunity to talk to Rauch in real life, he’s a prince!
“So what happens now?
“Revenge.”
The best dishes on television are indeed served cold my friends. Creator Jonathan Tropper, producer/director O.C. Madsen and producer/writer Adam Targum aren’t going to let us off easily. Whatever happens to Job, Brock or Carrie, Lucas and company will avenge it. The signature concoction of Banshee is imperfect people waging war against others and within themselves. He can do a lot of bad things and make a terrible decision every episode, but at the heart of Lucas Hood’s madness is a guy wanting to protect what he loves, no matter what. His final fight with his enemies and himself will be one for the record books. On January 29th, it all starts. I’d start preparing now.
Back in the 1970’s, a little magazine changed the way people viewed comedy and how to make or take a joke. The magazine was called The National Lampoon, and for many people that means the movies. That’s the end of the story and not the beginning. Before the movies were derived from the source material, this magazine gave readers a blunt look at the world and didn’t hold any punches. In other words, it held up a finger at the establishment and said, “we aren’t going to be brainwashed anymore”.
A couple of Ivy League scholars named Doug Kenney and Henry Beard formed the original brain trust and when they connected with publishing wise guy wizard Matty Simmons, the sky wasn’t even the limit. The depth of their raunchy gaze was their limit. In the new documentary, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon, youngsters like myself get to experience the rise and fall of this juggernaut.
Think of the Rolling Stones effect on rock n’ roll and music in general and you have the connection struck by the National Lampoon. Through brash humor, nudity, filthy comics and other devices, it held a microscope to all the protected parties that didn’t want their dirty laundry put in public. Through a series of interviews with the likes of Simmons, Beard, Kevin Bacon, Billy Bob Thornton, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, Martha Smith and others, we are given a back stage pass to this madness.
It all started with Kenney and Beard, two smart punch drunk kids who told it like it was and didn’t hold back. Kenney, the more self destructive brilliant dirty poet who was this close to the edge of doom and the more level headed yet just as sharp Beard. They were a team unlike any other and they became millionaires. The magazine became a radio show that brought in the talents of Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Belushi. Movies were spawned and even a Grammy nominated political satire infused album. Saturday Night Live was fired up by what this magazine started. Belushi’s talents were first put on display in the magazine, radio shows and eventually the hit film, “Animal House”.
As the old adage reminds us, all good things come to an end. Kenney’s self destructive nature caught up to him. The majority of the writing crew and performers went on to bigger things once Hollywood opened its doors. The magazine got too raunchy and lost some advertisers. The ride couldn’t go on because you are only as great as your last perfect idea.
What should be remembered and appreciated about this magazine and its original idea is the fearlessness it showed with its humor. They didn’t take 200 dollars in passing “Go”. They held up the bank and took everything with its outlandish yet hard to avoid style. At a time where the world’s identity was changing, it used the greatest drug of all and that’s humor. Kenney and Beard swung it like a sword at the audience and demanded their attention. One magazine cover simply said, “Buy this magazine or we will shoot this dog”. Okay, so maybe they did get a little personal but for years it worked and spiked a new brand of comedy. The not messing around kind of funny that is slowly becoming lost these days because nobody wants their tiny bubble invaded.
Co-writer/director Thomas Tirola gets some candid words from original members and honesty from others in telling this story through the finest documentary devices. For someone like myself who can only look at stock footage and wonder what the first page read was like, seeing this documentary was a kick to the head. A reminder for when original humor was a weapon of mass destruction and not an alibi.
When it arrives this weekend at the Tivoli Theater on the Delmar loop, give it a look. Take your mom or dad. Relive something that simply doesn’t exist anymore. When other movie theaters are showing comedies that are so safe and based in a place where real humor doesn’t exist, choose this ride instead. For all the kids who love Old School and Superbad, remember that it all began with Animal House, which came from The National Lampoon’s Magazine. There’s lots of goods in this documentary.
How important is Yadier Molina to the St. Louis Cardinals this month? Well, how important is water to the human body? Without it, the overall function of the body goes down. Specialized units are damaged. The longevity of the operation is hindered. Imagine a car engine without oil. A pizza without cheese. A salad without dressing. A barbecue without charcoal.
The Cardinals need Molina in more ways than a baseball card can reveal. If a chef was looking at the 2015 Cardinals in a kitchen before the last big meal and saw no Yadi available, he would be lost. The status of Molina this week is the biggest story for a good reason. Yesterday, a hand specialist told Molina that the ligament in his right hand still wasn’t fully healed but that a splint could put on and the player could try and manage the pain.
The next 48-72 hours will be interesting. Can Yadi catch 100-125 pitches in a game? Can his hand handle the pain, especially when a guy like Jaime Garcia is throwing pitches every way but loose towards the plate? What will he be able to do with a bat in his hands? Will the cool chill blunt force of the bat meeting the baseball send a shockwave of pain down Yadier’s hand? Can he handle it? Well, he did just lead the Major Leagues in innings caught behind home plate and those knees have endured 1464 games in his career. I wouldn’t count him out. He’s just too valuable.
Remember last year’s NLCS against the Giants? Molina missed the last three games and the Cardinals were eliminated. You think there’s a connection there or we all still agreeing it was Randy Choate’s fault? The Yadier Effect is powerful ladies and gents.
Why did the Cardinals pitching staff keep it together this season? Molina. He is the captain, general, sheriff or whatever you want to call him on the field. Opposing managers lose sleep thinking about him behind the plate controlling the running game. Baserunners have to rethink their stealing abilities because Yadier has a good chance of gunning you down if you try to go. The Cardinals rotation ERA led the Majors without Adam Wainwright. The bullpen ERA was second in the league. You see a connection here? Yadier Molina is the constant in this successful operation. He is the scalpel. His catcher’s ERA of 2.79 led the majors as well. He also led the league in “Don’t Even Think About” staring contests.
Take that away and what are the Cardinals? Human. Beatable. The Cardinals will be a fragile human species in this playoff hunt if they don’t have Molina. There’s death, taxes and Yadier catching playoff games. He has the most playoff experience of any Cardinal on the roster. He doesn’t have a bad bat either, compiling a .290 batting average in 86 playoff games with 31 RBI and 17 doubles. He’s a smart hitter who can work a pitcher over without even swinging the bat. He’s valuable anywhere on a baseball field.
If you are a religious person, toss in a few Hail Mary’s for Yadier’s thumb this week. Don’t think. Just do it. Remember, back in the Great Depression, people gathered in a church and prayed for a boxer to score a huge win. This is not far fetched. If you are friendly with the big man upstairs, talk to him about Yadier.
If you want to see the Cardinals go deep into this postseason, they will need their general in tow. Sure, Yadier can be a fine cheerleader and mentor to Tony Cruz. Sure, Cruz has done fine in relief of Molina. As everybody and their four year son knows, however, there is only one Yadier Molina and he’s very good at his job.
He’s needed this month and maybe the first week of November as well. If the St. Louis Cardinals want to celebrate on Clark and Spruce this winter, they will need a little cowbell and Yadier Molina to get the job done. He’s been a part of the last two World Series titles and knows his way around a big game. He won’t be 100 percent, but then again who is this time of year?
Get well, Yadier. Cardinal Nation needs you to be ready Friday night.
Don’t think. Just sit and be entertained by NBC’s The Player. It’s a guilty pleasure. An action adventure built to thrill and not boggle viewers down with complexity. There are some juice in these dice if you care to watch and be sucked in every Thursday night. Here are the five things we learned from Episode 2, “Ante Up”.
*Philip Winchester is a bona fide action star built for the 1980’s but doing fine here. Every time I see him swing into action as Alex Kane, the man of mystery thrust into a different “game” every week, I see a shade of Dolph Lundgren mixed with a young Kurt Russell. He’s got the goods, and he showed it on Cinemax’s Strikeback. Here is an actor who won’t win an Emmy award but will make action junkies like myself feel a wave of nostalgia for the old action heroes. The men who said little and punched harder. Winchester makes this show go. Built like a brick house and carrying more charm than needed and an edge, he does more than enough here.
*Point Break tributes are still legal, right? This week, Alex was matched against an old war buddy and opened up a chase that started on the strip and ended in the desert. In particular, a scene where Winchester’s Kane jumps out of an airplane sans parachute after his guy. If that doesn’t get you feeling the firepower goosebumps, I am not sure what will.
*The lingering question of whether Kane’s wife Jenny is dead is a boiling pot, and something that Wesley Snipes’ Mr. Johnson will help Kane track down and solve. The minute she was shot in the pilot, I smelt something cooking that wasn’t ready to eat yet and could add a layer of intrigue to an otherwise procedural type series. Jenny is alive and Alex and his handler will solve it.
*You can’t trust anyone on the show and that will continue week to week. Something about Johnson’s assistant and tech savvy pretty lady Cassandra makes me think she has a few dirty skeletons in her closet. Her relationship with Jenny, her quick to trigger handle nudge in her home and her overall ability to control the game. Keep some eyes on her.
*Snipes offers a few coats of paint on Johnson and that’s fine. While his face and name are plastered all over the hype of this show, Snipes is a supporting character and it’s a good thing. He gets his one little quick fight exchange and that’s enough to propel Alex’s story. That doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t want to know how deep Johnson’s connections go and how his past steered him to Vegas. Keep an eye on him as well.
Winchester muscle. Snipes flavor. Dangerous ladies. Easy to digest plots with above average network action. This NBC cheeseburger is tasting more well done with each hour. “Ante up” was better than the pilot. Let’s hope hour three just keeps getting better and better.
Dose of Buffa 