List #95: Pop Culture Wish List, part 6

While we're in the zone of fulfilling my pop culture requests, I would like to put forward some additional items for consideration.

See Part 1 here.
See Part 2 here.
See Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.

See Part 5 here.

Item 11: A surreal sketch show with Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone

Look. Both Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone are doing fine. They have successful comedy careers -- lots of gigs, Netflix stand-up specials, appearances on The Tonight Show, magazine profiles, a perpetually resurrected podcast ... the works.

But, still. They work so well together. I would like the two of them to write and host some kind of leaning-into-the-void absurdity. I'm thinking the fully committed surreality of Maria Bamford's Lady Dynamite. Hey! Have Maria Bamford as a recurring character!

Item 12: A miniseries adaptation of Widdershins

The webcomic Widdershins (Rec. #870) is funny and exciting and smart. It's structured around several small stories within one longer arc, which means it's perfectly set up to be a miniseries. Lots of memorable characters and big action sequences and sharp one-liners. Creator Kate Ashwin has even helpfully cast one of the leads --- Dev Patel as Sidney Malik.

Rec. #760: Trailer for Fosse/Verdon

What: The Fosse/Verdon miniseries is coming this spring, and I'm very excited. 

I love that Gwen Verdon is in the title. I love that the cast includes actual Broadway talent. I love that we will get to see people take on the daunting task of pretending to be Liza Minnell, Neil Simon, and Shirley MacLaine.

How to get it: Watch the teaser trailer here.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Fosse, the Tony-winning revue of the choreographer's work, was Rec. #262. 

Rec. #549: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #16

[Originally posted January 20, 2014.]

"Well, this is the most depressing hallucination I ever had."

--- Harper Pitt,

Angels in America, 2003

[play by Tony Kushner, 1993]

Rec. #437: Revisiting List #26 (Content That Has Actually Caused Me to Throw Something Across a Room)

[List #26 was originally posted March 12, 2013]
 

Some of these I love and some of them I loathe. Feel free to guess which is which!

1. Angels and Ages [book], Adam Gopnik (see also Rec. #39)

Trigger: The prologue.

What I yelled: * "'He' is a not a gender-neutral pronoun! Using the word 'man' to mean 'people' makes you sound like a dick!"

Who's to blame: Adam Gopnik. He should know better.

2. Berkeley Square [miniseries] (see also Rec. #348)

Trigger: The final scene.

What I yelled: * "That's it?! You put us through all that for this?!"

Who's to blame: The living conditions in the early 1900s; they weren't great.

3. All Jane Eyre adaptations before the 2006 version with Ruth Wilson [movies, miniseries] (see also List #16)

Trigger: Usually the first time Jane speaks as an adult.

What I yelled: * "You're ruining it!!!"

Who's to blame: William Christy Cabanne, Robert Stevenson, Delbert Mann, Franco Zeffirelli, among others.

4. Light in August [book], William Faulkner

Trigger: The cumulative effect.

What I yelled: * "The dust, the dust! Dear gods, the dust!"

Who's to blame: The dust.

5. My Mad Fat Diary [television series] (see also Rec. #283)

Trigger: The party at Rae's house.

What I yelled: * "How can I be expected to deal with this?! I can't, I can't."

Who's to blame: Me. I should be emotionally stable enough to handle watching events in the life of a 16-year-old in the mid-'90s.

  

6. Started Early, Took My Dog [book], Kate Atkinson (see also Rec. #270)

Trigger: Reaching the last page.

What I yelled: * "And?!?!?!"

Who's to blame: Me, for being greedy.

7. State of Play [miniseries] (see also Rec. #104)

Trigger: Twist number . . . I lost count.

What I yelled: * "Damn you, Paul Abbott!"

Who's to blame: Paul Abbott, for being so clever.




* While throwing; minus the expletives






[I really should make this a series. I have. So. Much. To. Add.]

List #64: Happy Birthday, Paul Abbott

Who: Paul Abbott is a master of darkly comic, often suspenseful, television series. The characters are complex; the dialogue is the sharper, more articulate version of how people actually think; and the humor bites through even the muckiest of muck.

Alibi, 2003

Hit & Miss, 2012

Reckless, 1997-1998

(Rec. #290)

Shameless (U.K.), 2004-2013

(Rec. #14)

State of Play (U.K.), 2003

(Rec. #104)

Touching Evil, 1997-1999

N.B.: People keep adapting Paul Abbott's stuff -- pay close attention to the years listed here and settle for nothing less than the original.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #274: The Forsyte Saga

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Adapted from the novels by John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga follows a British family over the course of five adulterous, scheming, artistic, wrenching, scandalous, tragic, well-funded decades.

Comparable to: Before Downton Abbey chomped its way through early twentieth century domestic drama, The Forsyte Saga made its own mark, with people running off with governesses, getting engaged to penniless architects, supporting spendthrift husbands, being killed while running around in the fog, and disinheriting people (and then reinheriting them).

A few key phrases from the Wikipedia plot summary:
"ends up vulgarly kissing her arm in public"
"June returns from a holiday in Switzerland and discovers the lawsuit"
"when he pulls the trigger he finds it was not loaded"

Representative quote: "There is something ironic, isn't there, that all the people I love, really love, all gravitate to her in the end. And they always love Irene more."

[Originally posted 2/6/13.]

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #27: The Buccaneers

Stream what: In this Edith Wharton adaptation, new-money Americans head to England to buy themselves some aristocrats.

Stream why: It's soapy in the best way possible. [Don't take the puppy, Nan! It will not end well for you!]

Stream where: Netflix

List #45: Countdown to the New Year [3 Days to Go]

The Daily Wreck is almost 4 years old!

So, behold: a rundown of all the names and titles mentioned by The Daily Wreck over the course of those four years, before we reflect back on 2014 with some "Best Of" lists in January.


Part 23: Today's Installment Is Brought to You by the Letter "W"

W
Waddell, Justine   Rec. #49, (Rec. #121), Personal Wreck #3, FF: Rec. #49, Rec. #354
Wag the Dog   Rec. #116
Wainwright, Martha   Rec. #187, FF: Rec. #187, Rec. #362
Wainwright, Rufus   (Rec. #206), (FF: Rec. #206)

Wait Until Dark   Rec. #26, (Rec. #47), (Rec. #97), (Rec. #132), Personal Wreck #4, (Rec. #205), (FF: Rec. #205), (FF: Rec. #132), QfFC #9, FF: Rec. #26, List #41, (FF: Rec. #47)
Walken, Christopher   (Rec. #250), (FF: Rec. #250)
Walker, Ally   List #28
Walker, Polly   Rec. #104, FF: Rec. #104
The Walking Dead   (Rec. #267)
Wallace, David Foster   (Rec. #325)
Wallach, Eli   List #28
War for the Oaks   Rec. #291
Warrender Chase   Rec. #13, FF: Rec. #13
The Washington Story   Rec. #295

Wasilewski, Audrey   List #29
Wasserstrom, Jill   Rec. #82
Waters, Alice   (Rec. #39)
Waterston, Sam   List #28
Waugh, Evelyn   Rec. #217
The Way We Live Now   List #13, FF: List #13, (Rec. #354)
Wayne, John   (Rec. #10)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle   (Rec. #134), (FF: Rec. #134)
Webb, Clifton   Rec. #193, FF: Rec. #193
Weber, Steven   Rec. #123
Weight   Rec. #272, (Rec. #298), (Rec. #302), (Rec. #349)
Weisz, Rachel   List #28, Rec. #304
Welch, Florence   Rec. #187, FF: Rec. #187, Rec. #362
Welch, Raquel   Rec. #215, FF: Rec. #215
Welcome to My Planet (Where English Is Sometimes Spoken)   (Rec. #93), Rec. #338, (FF: Rec. #93)

Welcome to Night Vale   Rec. #303, List #38
West, Mae   (Rec. #122), (List #5), (FF: Rec. #122)
West, Rebecca   Rec. #224
The West Wing [book]   Rec. #207, FF: Rec. #207
The West Wing [television]   (Rec. #236)
What a Way to Go!   Rec. #175
What Fresh Hell Is This?   (see Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?)
What's Up, Doc?   Rec. #38, FF: Rec. #38, List #42
Wharton, Edith   (List #13), (FF: List #13)
Whedon, Jed   Rec. #90, FF: Rec. #90
Whedon, Joss   Rec. #90, FF: Rec. #90, List #36, Rec. #331, SSoW #4
Whedon, Zach   Rec. #90, FF: Rec. #90
Wheeler, Susan   Rec. #268, FF: Rec. #268
When the Messenger Is Hot   Rec. #73, (Rec. #151), List #5, (Rec. #245), (Rec. #314), FF: Rec. #73

When Will There Be Good News?   (Rec. #3), Rec. #192, (FF: Rec. #137), (FSoM #14), (Rec. #270), (Rec. #282), (Rec. #301), FF: Rec. #192, (List #35), (FF: Rec. #69), (FF: Rec. #3)
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang   (Rec. #111), (FF: Rec. #111)
White Swan, Black Swan   Rec. #53, (Rec. #151), FF: Rec. #53
Whites   List #32
Whitman, Walt   Personal Wreck #3
Whittaker, Promise   Rec. #46, FF: Rec. #46
Whittington, Nora Jane   Rec. #25, FF: Rec. #25
Who's the Boss?   (Rec. #263)
Wiest, Dianne   Rec. #20, FF: Rec. #20
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself   Rec. #108, (Rec. #112), Personal Wreck #1, (FF: Rec. #112), List #29
Wild Strawberries   (Gift Idea #11)
Wilde, Oscar   (Rec. #30), (Rec. #98), Rec. #148, List #7, (FF: Rec. #98), FF: Rec. #148, (Rec. #313), Rec. #336, (FF: Rec. #30)

Wilder, Billy   (Rec. #106), (List #1), Rec. #194, (FF: Rec. #106), FF: Rec. #194
Wilder, Thornton   Rec. #78
Wilhelm, Kate   Rec. #111, List #4, FF: List #4, FF: Rec. #111
Wilkins, Lotty   Rec. #113
Wilkinson, Tom   List #28
Williams, Michelle   Rec. #143
Williams, Robin   Rec. #265
Willis, Connie   Rec. #100, (Personal Wreck #2), Personal Wreck #5, List #8, (Rec. #208), Gift Idea #1, Rec. #218, FF: Rec. #100, Rec. #248, (FF: Rec. #162), Rec. #266, (FF: Rec. #208), FF: Rec. #218, List #33, Rec. #355, List #44
The Willowdale Handcar   Rec. #207, FF: Rec. #207
Wills, Muley   Rec. #82
Wilson, Owen   Rec. #189, FF: Rec. #189, (Rec. #314)
Wilson, Ruth   Rec. #178, FF: Rec. #178, (List #26)
Wimsey, Lord Peter   (Rec. #60), (FF: Rec. #60)
Winslet, Kate   (Rec. #91), (Rec. #288)
Winslow, Annabel   Rec. #201
Winstead, Mary Elizabeth   Rec. #329
Winterbottom, Michael   Rec. #112, FF: Rec. #112

Winterson, Jeanette   Rec. #66, (Rec. #79), Personal Wreck #4, (Rec. #243), Rec. #272, (Rec. #298), Rec. #302, Rec. #349, (FF: Rec. #79)
Wire in the Blood   (Rec. #210), List #16, (FF: Rec. #210)
Wit   Rec. #132, (Rec. #265), FF: Rec. #132
The Witch of Exmoor   Personal Wreck #4, Rec. #247
Witherspoon, Reese   Rec. #179
Wives and Daughters   (List #7), Personal Wreck #3, List #13, FF: List #13, (Rec. #290), Rec. #354
The Wizard of Oz   (Rec. #226)
Wodehouse, P.G.   Rec. #24, (Rec. #31), (Rec. #44), (Rec. #54), (Rec. #68), (Rec. #70), Rec. #136, Rec. #153, List #7, Rec. #204, (FF: Rec. #70), Rec. #254, Gift Idea #7, Rec. #289, (Rec. #297), Rec. #318, List #32, List #33, QfFC #23, QfFC #35, (FF: Rec. #68), (FF: Rec. #31), List #43, List #44
The Woman in White   Rec. #121, (Gift Idea #4), (Rec. #354)
Wonderfalls   Rec. #2, (Rec. #49), (Rec. #99), List #1, List #8, FF: Rec. #2, (FF: Rec. #49), (Rec. #233), List #24, List #29, QfFC #14, QfFC #54

Wood, Elijah   Rec. #329
Woodard, Alfre   Rec. #92
Woolf, Virginia   (Rec. #66), Rec. #98, List #7, (Rec. #181), (FF: Rec. #181), FF: Rec. #98
Woolrich, Cornell   Rec. #47, List #5, FF: Rec. #47
Wooster, Bertie   (Rec. #24), (Rec. #136), Rec. #153, (List #7), Rec. #254, (Rec. #289), QfFC #35, List #43
Worden, Shara   Rec. #187, FF: Rec. #187
Wright, Teresa   List #30
The Wrong Mans   List #32
The Wuggly Ump   Rec. #207, FF: Rec. #207
Wyler, William   Rec. #205, FF: Rec. #205
Wyman, Jane   List #30

List #45: Countdown to the New Year [5 Days to Go]

The Daily Wreck is almost 4 years old!

So, behold: a rundown of all the names and titles mentioned by The Daily Wreck over the course of those four years, before we reflect back on 2014 with some "Best Of" lists in January.


Part 21: Today's Installment Is Brought to You by the Letter "U"

U
Ullman, Tracey   (Rec. #81)

Ultraviolet   Rec. #212, List #16, (Rec. #255), FF: Rec. #212, List #34

Uncertain Voyage   Rec. #167, Personal Wreck #1, FF: Rec. #167
Uncle Dynamite   Rec. #204, (Rec. #254), (Gift Idea #7), (Rec. #318), List #43
The Uncommon Reader   Rec. #260, (QfFC #8)
Unconscious   (see Inconscientes)
The Undertaker's Gone Bananas   Rec. #16, List #2, List #5, List #7, List #11, List #14, List #24, FF: Rec. #16

The United States of Tara   Personal Wreck #4, Rec. #351
Unless   (List #7)
The Unprofessionals   (Rec. #6), (FF: Rec. #6)
The Unstrung Harp   Rec. #207, FF: Rec. #207
(Untitled)   List #15, List #24
[The Untitled Book]   Rec. #273
The Unusuals   Rec. #173, List #15, (Rec. #249), FF: #173

Up in the Air   (Rec. #22), (FF: Rec. #22)
The Up Series   Rec. #33, Personal Wreck #3, FF: Rec. #33
Urich, Robert   Rec. #263
Les Urnes Utiles   Rec. #352
"Us Amazonians"   Rec. #259, FF: Rec. #259
The Utter Zoo   Rec. #352

List #45: Countdown to the New Year [6 Days to Go]

The Daily Wreck is almost 4 years old!

So, behold: a rundown of all the names and titles mentioned by The Daily Wreck over the course of those four years, before we reflect back on 2014 with some "Best Of" lists in January.


Part 20: Today's Installment Is Brought to You by the Letter "T"

T
T in the Park Festival   Rec. #322
Take the Cannoli   Rec. #32, (Rec. #76), (Rec. #213), (FF: Rec. #213), FF: Rec. #32, (FF: Rec. #76)
Talbot, Fleur   Rec. #13, FF: Rec. #13
A Tale of Two Cities   (List #7)

Tales of the City   Rec. #67, List #3, Personal Wreck #2, (Rec. #211), FF: Rec. #67, (Rec. #294), (Rec. #316)
(see also Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City)
Tales of the Jazz Age   (Gift Idea #4)
Talking Heads   (Rec. #73), (Rec. #107), (FF: Rec. #73)
Tamara Drewe   Rec. #271
Tamblyn, Amber   Rec. #173, FF: #173
Taming of the Shrew   List #16
Tancharoen, Maurissa   Rec. #90, FF: Rec. #90
Tanen, Sloane   Rec. #77
Tarne, Martyn   Rec. #102, FF: Rec. #102
Tarsem   FF: Rec. #49
Tartt, Donna   (Rec. #286)
Tate, Catherine   Rec. #81, Rec. #178, FF: Rec. #178
Tautou, Audrey   Rec. #300

Taylor, Holland   Rec. #59, Rec. #253, FF: Rec. #253, FF: Rec. #59
Taylor, Jason   Rec. #72, (Rec. #138), (FF: Rec. #138), FF: Rec. #72, QfFC #52
Taylor, Lili   Rec. #296
Taylor, Mary Kennedy   Rec. #296
Taylor, Phoebe Atwood   FSoM #13
Taylor, Steve   List #16
Taymor, Julie   Rec. #334
Teachers   List #16, List #34
The Tempest   (Rec. #282)
Tennant, David   (Rec. #133), Rec. #178, List #16, FF: Rec. #178, Rec. #267
Tennant, Geoffrey   Rec. #127, FF: Rec. #127
Terkel, Studs   (Rec. #8), (FF: Rec. #8)
Territory   Rec. #10, (Rec. #24), (Rec. #53), (Rec. #291), (FF: Rec. #53)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles   Personal Wreck #3, (Rec. #354)

Tex and Molly in the Afterlife   Rec. #142, List #5, FF: Rec. #142, (Rec. #359)
Tey, Josephine   (Rec. #37), Rec. #75, Rec. #200, Rec. #228, FF: Rec. #75
Thackeray, William Makepeace   (Rec. #40)
Thank You for Smoking   Rec. #87, (Rec. #103), (Rec. #116), FF: Rec. #87
That Mitchell and Webb Look   List #9, List #32
Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers   Rec. #130
Then We Came to the End   (Rec. #51), (FF: Rec. #51)
Theron, Charlize   Rec. #311
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"   (Rec. #267)
"They Don't Know"   (Rec. #259), (FF: Rec. #259)
The Thick of It   List #32
The Thin Man (book)   Rec. #234, FSoM #5, (Rec. #319)

The Thin Man (film)   (Rec. #219), (Rec. #229), (FF: Rec. #219), Rec. #319
Thirkell, Angela   Rec. #40, (Rec. #61), (Rec. #134), List #5, (FF: Rec. #134), Rec. #240, FF: Rec. #40, (FF: Rec. #61), QfFC#12, QfFC #31, (Rec. #344), QfFC #43, QfFC #50
35 Up  Rec. #33, FF: Rec. #33, (SSoW #2), Gift Idea #11
This American Life   (Rec. #32), (Rec. #171), (Rec. #188), (FF: Rec. #188), (FF: Rec. #32)
This Life   List #16
Thomas, Rob   (Rec. #101), Rec. #182, FF: Rec. #182
Thompson, Emma   Rec. #132, Rec. #265, FF: Rec. #132
Thompson, Scott   List #29
Thoms, Tracie   List #29
Thorne, Darrell   (Rec. #299)
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)   Personal Wreck #2, Rec. #208, (FF: Rec. #96), FF: Rec. #208

Tied Up in Tinsel   FSoM #17, List #27
Tierney, Gene   Rec. #193, (Rec. #284), FF: Rec. #193
Tiersen, Yann   Rec. #300
Tinti, Hannah   Rec. #1, FF: Rec. #1
To Be or Not to Be   List #42
To Say Nothing of the Dog   Rec. #100, (Rec. #162), List #8, (Rec. #208), (Gift Idea #1), (Rec. #218), FF: Rec. #100, (Rec. #248), (FF: Rec. #162), (Rec. #266), (FF: Rec. #208), (FF: Rec. #218), (Rec. #355)
To Sir, With Love   (Rec. #149)
To the Lighthouse   (List #7)
Toksvig, Sandi   SSoW #5
Told by an Idiot   Rec. #181, (Rec. #224), FF: Rec. #181, (QfFC #6), (Rec. #346)

Tolliver, Michael (Mouse)   Rec. #67, FF: Rec. #67
Tom Jones   (Rec. #354)
Tomei, Marisa   Rec. #59, List #1, FF: Rec. #59
Tomlin, Lily   (Rec. #162), (FF: Rec. #162)
Tonight You're Mine   (see You Instead)
Top Hat   List #20, FF: List #20
Topper   List #42
Torres, Gina   List #29
Touching Evil   (Rec. #14), List #16, (Rec. #290), (FF: Rec. #14)
The Tournament   Rec. #12, (Rec. #24), (Rec. #30), (Rec. #98), FF: Rec. #12, (FF: Rec. #98), (Rec. #286), (Rec. #313), (FF: Rec. #30)
Tovey, Russell   Rec. #115, FF: Rec. #115
The Towers of Trebizond   QfFC #6, Rec. #346
Tracy, Spencer   (Rec. #94), Rec. #229
Tremayne, Diane   Rec. #284
Trillian   Rec. #198

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story   Rec. #112, List #2, Personal Wreck #5, FF: Rec. #112, (Rec. #292), (FF: Rec. #261)
Trollope, Anthony   (List #13), (FF: List #13), (Gift Idea #11)
Tropical Brainstorm   Rec. #259, FF: Rec. #259
Trouble in Paradise   List #20, FF: List #20, List #42
The Trouble with Harry   Rec. #145, List #6, List #12, (Rec. #225), FF: List #6, (MNID #1), List #30
True Blood   (Rec. #212), (FF: Rec. #212)
True Grit   (Rec. #10)
Truffaut, François   List #17
Trust   Rec. #165, Personal Wreck #5, List #12, FF: Rec. #165, (Rec. #323), QfFC #47
Tucci, Stanley   Rec. #232, (List #21)
Tumblr   List #39
The Tuning Fork   Rec. #352
Tunney, Robin   Rec. #29
Twentieth Century   List #42
28 Up   Rec. #33, FF: Rec. #33, (SSoW #2)
21 Up   Rec. #33, FF: Rec. #33, (SSoW #2)
2 Days in Paris   List #15

2D Goggles   Rec. #269
Tykwer, Tom   Rec. #71, FF: Rec. #71
Tyler, Jaye   Rec. #2, FF: Rec. #2
Tyler, Karen   QfFC #54