Memorial Day Weekend: TV if it rains and podcasts for the beach
Happy Memorial Day weekend!
As we commemorate our nation's fallen heroes, maybe you're planning to visit family, or even logging some time at the beach. But if it rains where you are (there's a chance that will happen where I am), and you end up watching the boob tube, then this message is for you.
When I was a kid, reunion shows -- from "Return to Mayberry" to "A Very Brady Christmas" -- were reliably terrible. Most of the old actors (assuming they came back) had entered into "old-timer's game" territory, mailing in their cash-grab performances. The sets were never quite the same, and the plot was typically flimsy, even by sitcom standard. It didn't matter to producers, who assumed nostalgia, not quality, would attract ratings. Likewise, recent movie reboots of 1970s and '80s shows (The Dukes of Hazard, The A-Team, Starsky & Hutch) felt both derivative and exploitive. They play on our nostalgia to get us in the theatre, but deliver a mediocre (at best) rehashing of a once-beloved show, typically featuring a brief cameo by one of the show's old stars. You never walk out of one of those movies feeling good.
I had always assumed that part of the problem was that "you can't go home again" -- that there was something magical about, say, The Andy Griffith Show circa 1961, and trotting out an aging Don Knotts for some contrived reason wasn't going to be enough to recapture the magic.
Then came the TV reboots, and -- having had my emotions toyed with too many times -- I was skeptical. But then I was stunned by how good the Roseanne reboot was. It was smart and funny and relevant. And, whereas sometimes trying to recapture your former glory is a recipe for disappointment and melancholy, the Connors looked and felt arguably better than they did in the late 80s/early 90s.
I could say the same thing about the new Karate Kid reboot, Cobra Kai. Back in April, I went to a movie theater and got a sneak preview of the first two episodes (now available for free on YouTube). And I have to say that the show is smart and funny. As a half-hour show, it's funnier than the movies; somehow this format works better. I could do without some of the language (which makes me hesitant to show my kids what would otherwise be a great show), but it's so good that I can only imagine that it will spawn other franchises to replicate the idea. Yet, being the initial franchise to master this will have its benefits.
In other words: Strike first, strike hard, no mercy.
On the podcast
This week, I talked with former Democratic Congressman and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello about faith (including Rev. Michael Curry’s sermon at the royal wedding), abortion, race, Confederate monuments, automation, and why he’s worried about another world war.
I also talked with Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group and author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism, about the canceled North Korea summit, globalism, the importance of walls, and more!
As always, please be sure to rate and review the podcast on iTunes, and to support our work on Patreon.
Next week, stay tuned for interviews with Senator Mike Lee and Courtney Carver, author of Soulful Simplicity: How Living with Less Can Lead to So Much More.
The Notorious RBG
I don't have much in common with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (she's a pro-choice liberal and I'm a pro-life conservative), but I do want to recommend the new documentary RBG about her life. One of the more interesting things about Ginsburg is her unlikely friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. It shows some fun clips of the two of them together. But it wasn't until seeing the film that I realized why she liked him so much. It turns out that he was incredibly similar to Ginsburg's late husband, Martin Ginsburg, who was -- like Scalia -- a gregarious, funny, larger-than-life kind of guy. I'm not even sure if RBG is consciously aware of the similarity between their personalities, and how it compliments her more cerebral style, but it shines through in this interesting movie. Thumbs up from me.
Reader input?
I'm working on a new ebook that will be available to Patreon supporters who pledge $5 a month. The beta title is, Matt Lewis & The Interviews: 21 Life Lessons I Learned from Podcast Guests. Did you pick up some life or career advice from one of my podcast interviews? If so, please let me know at matt@mattklewis.com or which one. If I use it, I'll send you a free pdf of the eBook when it comes out.