DJ M.A.D Hatter here spinning your requests until the sun comes up. This one goes out to a cat named Simon who wrote in from London say “I don’t hear enough about TV on your show – Why don’t you do something about that?”

Simon’s right of course, there isn’t much discussion of TV on this website or the podcast, and that’s mostly because I find TV to be such a difficult medium to critique. They tell stories in such a different manner, and said stories play differently depending on the circumstances the viewer sees the show. So perhaps the conversation shouldn’t be about what we watch, so much as it is how we watch it.

My guests this week are two people I’m lucky to know. They are both great friends; so much so that they both agreed to gather together and talk for this podcast with very little notice when illness ravaged my original guests. So while I have already said to them face to face, I wish to say it again here: Beth, Steve, you’re the cat’s pyjamas.

To recap the concept of this offshoot – expect to see these episodes turning up once a month. My intention is for them to be a bit more raw (there are almost no cuts in this conversation), a bit shorter, with no rules, and less of a pecking order on who sits down at the table.

Enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Android | RSS

28 Replies to “In Between Days vol. 4”

  1. I think the point that I didn’t make when we were talking about networks vs the cable guys was with the Networks, they are hampered by censorship rules on sex, language and violence that HBO and Showtime don’t have to worry about. Not that sex, language & violence are the secret ingredient for great TV (in fact they are often a crutch for weak writing – ahem – Mad Men) but being unfettered from those concerns allows more room to move creatively.

    1. I barely brought up Mad Men the entire show…and this is the thanks I get?? Here’s where your dislike for the show comes through…

      The sex in Mad Men is pretty tame, especially compared to the boobie-happy GAME OF THRONES. Likewise, the language which so far has only uttered “shit” twice, and one f-bomb that needed to be bleeped for broadcast.

      The writing in this show is really stellar, especially since it’s all about character development. So many of the main players have evolved so much since the show began, and considering Sorkin’s point about TV being “all middle”, evolution is what you want. It’s not quite the plot-driven show that something like The Wire or Breaking Bad is, but as a character-driven show it’s a writing clinic.

    2. Actually, in the case of Mad Men, what it offer instead of sex, language & violence, it offers viewers misogyny, racism and smoking… and maybe some alcoholism to boot. Guilty pleasures for those who wonder how the world came out looking like this: “Toasted” 😉

    3. Maybe some alcoholism? When you watch this show and get as far as season four, you’ll get a grin from that statement. Notice I say “when”, not “if”.

      Everything else is there in abundance – how the hell did we ever manage to evolve from all of that?

  3. I could stand to hear more about Mad Men and less about Game of Thrones. Sorry, I just don’t get the appeal of the show.

    1. I think Game of Thrones got so much mention on this episode because it’s the show that all three of us watch. As for it’s appeal, I will say that it takes two or three episodes to really hook folks…but I can see how it wouldn’t be for everyone.

      Ordinarily, I can talk about Mad Men until the cows cone home, but knowing that Steve adamantly dislikes the show, I decided it’d be best to leave discussion of it to a minimum.

      Next time. I promise.

    2. I’m just “keeping it real”! I think I’m the last holdout of everyone I know about that freakin’ show – which means I can never ever back down, no matter how convincing the argument.

    3. East there Che…if memory serves, you did cave and watch an episode or two. Or is that the flag you’re flying? “I watched an episode or two and hated it”?

    4. I could not just put on my 4-year-old-girl hat and say I hated the show without even seeing an episode. Now that I’ve seen it, I can tell Sam I Am that I’ve tried them and still don’t like them.

      1. That is a trap and you know it!

        BTW – When you’re done with The Wire I have something special for you: Just a clever as The Wire but fully Canadian: Intelligence. So freakin good!

    3. I’m most delighted that they are wrapping things up next season. TV shows that end on their own terms are few and far between, so I always love to see how a show will go out.

  5. Fun discussion, Ryan. Some of the big ones you mentioned are still on my “to see” list, particularly Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Sons of Anarchy. I also need to check out Lost Girl, which I’ve heard really good things about recently.

    One show that I love that went unmentioned is Justified, which perfectly captures Elmore Leonard’s voice while being its own creation. It also has great acting from the whole cast, especially Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins. They also have excellent guest actors.

    1. Justified is one that’s very much on my to-see list, given how many good things I’ve heard about it – and I am an Elmore Leonard fan, so you’re speaking my language.

      Perhaps once I’m done with The Wire.

    2. Big fan of Justified now – took a while to grow on me, but by the end of the first season I was hooked… Unfortunately, Netflix only has the first season available, so here’s hoping absence makes the heart grow fonder.

    3. If you’re a Leonard fan, I’d definitely recommend Justified. The first season is solid, and it just gets even better from there.

      This isn’t news to anyone, but the Wire is amazing and good to watch in short bursts. So sticking with that before starting anything new is a good move.

  6. I am stunned at how many people love Lost Girl. I’m right in the urban fantasy loving demographic for that thing, but just found it juvenile and pandering.

    3. Yeah, not a fan myself. I’ve given it a couple episodes to make sure, but it strikes me as having a lot in common with Lexx – for all the wrong reasons.

Comments are closed.