If you have a Netflix streaming account, it's worth checking out the new episode of David Letterman's series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction... He travels to Ukraine to talk with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It's not in-depth, but interesting and personal. (He even gets Zelenskyy to tell a pretty good Russian war joke.) Plus there's some external material of Dave going around Kyiv, talking with people there.
This is a link to it here.
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We have another entry for the Apology Institute of America of which Nell Minow and I are sole proprietors.
As brief background, British TV personality Jeremy Clarkson -- who previously was fired by the BBC after an altercation with a producer of the series Top Gear (and then later was rehired) wrote an op-ed in the Rupert Murdoch-owned London tabloid The Sun, where he vented his virulent misogynistic and racist fury at Meghan Markle. Without going into extension detail, but just to give the briefest idea so that there can be some perspective, at one point Clarkson made an allusion to a famous scene from Game of Thrones and wrote -- “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, “Shame!” and throw lumps of excrement at her.” And added that he hated Ms. Markle "on a cellular level." As if that explanation was needed. That brings us to last Saturday, Christmas Eve. The Sun wrote a notice that they "regret the publication" of the article by Jeremy Clarkson "and we are sincerely sorry." And said they are removing it from their archive. However, the only actual regret they express at all is that "It provoked a strong response and led to a large number of complaints to IPSO". (That's the Independent Press Standards Organisation.) "Large number" is 20,800 complaints in four days, as of last Tuesday morning. Along with 60 Members of Parliament from multiple parties wrote to The Sun editor and not only demanded an apology, but also that there be "action taken" against Clarkson. Additionally John Nicolson, a front-bench Member of Parliament and shadow culture minister of Scotland largest political party, the SNP, wrote a 10-paragraph letter to the President of ITV, which said, in part -- “As a member of parliament and a journalist by profession, I have consistently defended the freedom of the press. However, this has crossed a line. “Using the names of a democratically elected First Minister of Scotland and the Duchess of Sussex alongside that of a serial killer is grotesque. Expressing a scatological, misogynistic fantasy that Meghan Markle might be assaulted with faeces is an insight into a disturbed mind, openly expressing violence hate speech. I do not believe that Mr Clarkson should appear on our television screens again. It would be especially inappropriate for him to be used as a presenter by any Public Service Broadcaster.” That's the "strong response" and "large number of complaints" that The Sun received after publishing Clarkson's op-ed article. Apparently, this is a fine example of legendary British understatement. And that's the only reason The Sun gives for saying it's "sincerely sorry." So, no, they are not apologizing because it was repugnant. Further, IPSO says the article is being removed at Jeremy Clarkson's request, not The Sun's action on its own. Moreover, it took a full week for them to issue this paltry statement. That's no apology. Being sorry that you published something that got so many complaints only means you regret that YOU got called out for a reprehensible action, not because you recognize that your actions were reprehensible and why. And apologize for THAT. It's also not remotely "sincere." Being sorry you published something that got so many complaints only means you regret YOU got called out for a reprehensible action, not because you recognize that your actions were reprehensible, hurt someone & why. And that you apologize for *THAT*. From my end, as far as bad apologies go, I give this an F. For her part, my AIA partner Ms. Minow has now coined a phrase which appropriately describes it -- a "fauxpology." And to support our official AIA ruling, not shockingly the Duke and Duchess of Sussex agree. They have released a statement which reads: "The fact that the Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows their intent. This is nothing more than a PR stunt. While the public absolutely deserves the publication’s regrets for their dangerous comments, we wouldn’t be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny. A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath." But we can't let Jeremy Clarkson's own response to the whole matter go without mention. And I don't call it his "apology," but in no way is it. I should note first, though, that his own daughter Emily, who is a podcast presenter (of a program so-appropriately titled, "Should I Delete That?") released a statement of outrage and slamming her father. “My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media. “I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle and I remain standing in support of those that are targeted with online hatred.” On the other hand, ITV has said at the moment that it will keep Clarkson on as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Though it wouldn't shock me if that decision backfires. Who knows? We'll see...) And how has Clarkson himself responded to it all? He said his article had "a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones," and admitted that his piece "has gone down badly with a great many people." Concluding with "I'm horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future." I don't think that even qualifies as even a bad apology, but more of a snarky reply. "Gone down badly" makes The Sun's understatement seem outrageous by comparison. Moreover, the fact that he could write such an article that included wishing someone he hated at a cellular level would be paraded naked while being pelted with excrement and somehow be "horrified" it caused so much hurt shows a lack of self-awareness that doesn't even register on the world's most sensitive Richter Scale and makes clear his true thinking that what he wrote was okay. And given this response and that it comes after having been fired by the BBC for punching his producer, it seems improbable that he will be more careful in the future. Ever. Since that's not even an attempt at an apology, it's difficult to actually rate his response, and so instead the best that we can do is to give him an asterisk. And with that, we mark it -- "* Does not qualify with enough fake regret to earn an F." I have every confidence that this keeps with the standards established at the AIA with my co-founder Ms. Minow. In honor of the inveterate Chris Dunn, we finish off our Holiday Music Fest this year with two hours of Darlene Love singing the bejeepers out of “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”. No, really, two hours of it. Two hours. And it’s still a joy (though, yes, it’s fine to fast-forward occasionally. Or stop whenever you wish…) In 1986, Darlene Love was appearing in a show, Leader of the Pack, that Paul Shaffer was performing with. David Letterman came to a performance, because of his friend being in the production, loved her singing of this song and invited her on to her show to sing it – and kept inviting her back every year for 28 years through to his last season in 2014. And this is a compilation of all those soaring appearances. The first year, it was done for Letterman's Late Night show on NBC when they had no budget, but after they moved over to CBS for The Late Show, the show always went out for a big, fun production, generally building a bit each year – including how they’d introduce the saxophone solo in some different, often odd way. (They really begin ratcheting it up to a new level the year that begins around the 59-minute mark, and then have what is possibly their classic the next year.) Indeed, watching it change from year-to-year is much of the fun of this video. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, though – which is pretty likely – at least jump to the 1:40 mark when, for the last show, Letterman invites her back over to his desk as a guest, for the first time before her performance and for a full interview. And then right after, at the very end of the video, is a fun, sort of “Making of…” segment on how they put the song together each year. Which ends with a montage of about half a dozen versions of her singing the song. And each are seamless and joyous. Just know that there are five minutes at the beginning with a variety of clips sort of setting up the moment, talking about Leader of the Pack, for instance, and Dave talking about going to see it, which then finally gets us to...well, this -- I wrote about this piece of remarkable TV history back in 2014, and it remains one of my favorites. Though there's some background music in it, it's not about music at all, but it will nonetheless sit for today's Holiday Music Fest, mainly on the Fest part. Back in my initial posting on this site about Kukla, Fran and Ollie, I wrote about how the show's brilliant creator, puppeteer Burr Tillstrom won an additional Emmy Award that was not involved with KF&O, but for his work on his own. It was for one of the "hand ballets" that he performed on occasion for the satirical news series, That Was the Week That Was. That Was the Week That Was was a smart, pointed, very sharp British sketch-comedy show which was brought over to the U.S. in the early 1960s. Among other things, it introduced to American audiences one of the original British cast members, David Frost. It's also the show that introduced Tom Lehrer to most Americans. He wrote periodic songs for the series, and then recorded them for his now-classic hit album, That Was the Year That Was. And it also brought Burr Tillstrom into the national spotlight in a way people hadn't seen or expected. His hand ballets were little vignettes that didn't use any puppets at all, but merely Tillstrom's bare hands, using them alone to evoke some story in the news he wanted to get across. It was done with great artistry, often movingly. And one of them so artistic and moving that it won him an Emmy Award. In 1963, two years after the Berlin Wall had been erected, a very brief concession was made. The Wall would open for the Christmas holiday and allow those in the West to travel into East Berlin and visit family and loved ones, needing to return a few days later. This is what Burr Tillstrom did a hand ballet about shortly after. And -- -- I found the video of it! It is one of the favorite videos I've been able to find. I'm thrilled. The quality of the video is a little rough, especially at the beginning, but it's fine. And ultimately, as you watch -- one brilliant artist using only his hands -- the quality of the video won't matter one whit. And if anyone ever wonders where the humanity of Kukla, Fran and Ollie came from, to bring such life into puppets, now you'll know. When I posted this one year, I got a perturbed note from a reader who found nothing worthwhile about the video, and took me to task for wasting his time. In the spirit of the season, I will refrain from anything ad hominen. I will just say that I feel completely comfortable in recognizing the legend of this piece, and anything else is an understandable matter of personal taste. Wherever that may lie. I say this knowing that it's not just my opinion on this, but also the opinion of the members of the Television Academy who voted Tillstrom the Emmy Award. But to be fair, I guess I should add a disclaimer. If anyone doesn't like old black-and-white video or just looking at hands for three minutes, or politics and history, or quiet, thoughtful, emotional storytelling with the sparsest of action or jokes, centered instead on pure artistry, I get it, and so by all means avoid this. For everyone else, here it is. The video calls it "Burr Tillstrom's 'Berlin Wall.'" For me, I think of it as "The Burrlin Wall. Every year around this time, there are articles about which recorded version of A Christmas Carol is "the best." Usually it comes down to the films that starred either Alistair Sim or Reginald Owen. But for me, it's this one. It's not a movie, though, or a TV production. It's, of all things, an hour-long audio version that was done in 1960 for, I believe, the BBC. It's quite wonderful and as good an adaptation of the story as I've come across. It stars Sir Ralph Richardson as Scrooge, and Oscar-winner Paul Scofield as Dickens, the narrator. Casts don't get much better than that. I first heard this on radio station WFMT in Chicago which has been playing this every Christmas Eve for many decades. Eventually, I found it on audio tape. I've listened to it annually since I was a kidling. Some years I think I won't listen to it this year, but put it on for a few minutes for tradition's sake -- but after the first sentence it sucks me in. There are four reasons why, for me, this is far and away the best version. But one reason leaps out. First, the acting is as good as it gets. Scofield is crisp and emphatic as the narrator, and almost every creak of his voice draws you in to the world, and Richardson as Scrooge is a Christmas pudding joy. Second, being radio, you aren't limited by budgets to create the Dickensian world. Your imagination fills in every lush and poverty-stricken, nook and cranny -- and ghostly spirit, aided by moody sound effects and violins. Third, the adaptation sticks closely to the Dickens tale, and Scrooge comes across more a realistic, rounded-person than as a Mythic Icon. And fourth, and most of all by far, unlike any of the other version, this includes...Dickens. While the story of A Christmas Carol is beloved, it's Dickens' writing that makes it even more vibrant than the story alone is. And that's all lost in the movie versions, even down even to the legendary opening line, "Marley was dead, to begin with." Or any of the other classic narrative lines. (Like my favorite, when Scrooge first comes in contact with a ghost and was "as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow.") Or the richness of Dickens setting the mood and tone and description of the gritty and ephemeral and emotional world. All that's gone in movie versions, good as the productions may be. (One semi-exception: they use 'Gonzo' as a sort-of Dickens narrator in the Muppet adaptation of the story, and that's great -- though ultimately it's a Muppet version and fun, good but hardly a definitive telling...) But all of that Dickens narration is here in this radio adaptation, and Scofield's reading of it is joyously wonderful and memorable. For many, this will be A Christmas Carol unlike any other you're aware of, giving it a meaning and richness you didn't realize was there. The ending of the tale is so much more moving and joyful here, as we listen to Dickens' own words, that begin with "Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more," and it soars from there, to perhaps my favorite extended passage about the new Scrooge and how good he is in the "good old world. Or any other good old world." If you have the time or inclination, do give it a listen. If only for five minutes to at least get the flavor. You might find yourself sticking around. Let it play in the background, if you have other things to do. It runs about 55 minutes. (Side note: speaking of Dickens, if you know the original Broadway cast album of Oliver!, the actor here who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present, Willoughby Goddard, was Mr. Bumble on Broadway and also in the original London production.) Normally I would post this later in the evening -- but given the various time zones across the country, I thought that I'd get it embedded earlier to give as many listeners as possible the chance to hear it on Christmas Eve. This might not play immediately, since it's a large file and may have to buffer first. But be patient, it's worth it. Ralph Richardson, left. Paul Scofield, right.
In October a year ago, I posted a video here of an episode of the wonderful series, Frank's Place, considered one of the best series canceled much too early. (And that's not only my opinion, and that of my fellow-admirer, the inveterate Chris Dunn, president of our Frank’s Place Appreciation Society, West Los Angeles division, but in 2013 TV Guide ranked 60 shows that were “Cancelled Too Soon” – and Frank’s Place was ranked #3. Also, Rolling Stone put together their own list of the best sitcoms of all time, and Frank’s Place was #99.) Unfortunately, it not only was cancelled too soon, but it largely unseen since there with no DVDs or TV reruns. (That's largely because it used a lot of source music, largely New Orleans Dixieland jazz, whose rights would be expensive to clear for reruns, especially for a show that was only on the air for one season. There have been reports that they may "re-score" the show so that it can have a future life, but...we'll see.) That said, because of its emphasis on music, that's one reason I letting it qualify for the Holiday Music Fest. Of course, even if it didn't, I've have found some other reason to grant it a special exemption... As I noted before, I've been able to find two episodes online, though only two. (Hopefully more will show up eventually.) I posted that one , but said I'd hold the second for Hanukkah, since that's a subplot of the story. And since we're nearing the last night of Hanukkah, here is that second episode, before the holiday ends. The video quality is on fuzzy and only fair. But the quality of the show comes through. For some odd reason, this video starts about five minutes in, although only in one of my browsers. It's fine in the other (I suspect it's caught in my cache for that one browser, and it will revert to normal when I next clear its cache.) It will probably be fine when other people click and watch it. But if not, just drag the slider back to the beginning. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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