This week’s abbreviated holiday week episode is all about characters that TV shows want to make “happen.” Sometimes shows and showrunners have a character or a performer that they want us to love who we just can’t love, and that would be fine if they’d just stop trying so hard.
SHOW NOTES
Kathryn’s recaps of The Crown season two: http://www.vulture.com/tv/the-crown/
Jason Mantzoukas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Mantzoukas
Fred Armisen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Armisen
It's holiday time, so we dedicate the entire episode to a close reading of one of Netflix's forays into the wide world of dedicated Christmas programming: the Hallmark Christmas-style movie A Christmas Prince. Strap in for lying! Mothra! Negging! Jellied meats! Birther scandals! Romance! Tokenism! Constitutional crises! And so much more!
This week, Kathryn makes a new round of TV recommendations, just in time for the holiday break. We then check in with the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, available on Netflix in the US.
TV recommendations!
Watch Alias Grace on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80119411
Then read Kathryn’s piece on the ending: http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/alias-grace-lets-talk-about-the-ending.html
In the ongoing discussion about how we feel when we find out artists are jerks (or worse), we talk about separating the art from the artist. This discussion happened in the context of Louis C.K., but we think you'll find it relevant for all of your most recent #metoo-era feelings. Afterwards, we wrap up Stranger Things 2 and talk about our thoughts on Bob the Brain, the awesomeness of Dustin, and the less awesomeness of episode seven.