#michael sheen's face will be the death of me

[actual-changeling]

Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner - although today it is less unhinged and more of a watertight analysis.

What I am about to present you is something most people have probably already noticed, but it has been three months and I still lose my mind while going through the final fifteen frame by frame (which is a normal thing normal people like us do, right? right).

You literally cannot convince me my following meta is wrong, and the only person whose criticism I will accept on this post is Michael Sheen and Michael Sheen ONLY. If you're not Michael Sheen (hi Michael Sheen who probably has a secret tumblr account) then your guess is as good as mine, though again, I think mine is solid.

So.

We all love and hate Aziraphale's "I forgive you", but what I find even more painful is the fact that before that he almost said "I love you". Then he stops himself and changes it, and the amount of micro-expressions on his face as he makes that decision is my current cause of death.

Here's the clip as evidence #1, and while it can definitely support itself, let's dive into the pain a little more, shall we?

One important thing I noticed is that Aziraphale doesn't look at Crowley while he stutters his way through his initial reaction. He blinks up at him for a few frames before averting his eyes again and only holds eye contact after the almost-confession (from here on referred to as IL-).

This is Aziraphale holding eye contact with Crowley (left) vs. him looking away (right):

The frame on the left is from the I forgive you (IFY) part of the scene, the other one from right before IL-. If we go through the above clip little by little we will find that he avoids Crowley's face the entire time and his gaze slips further and further down, which I interpret as him overthinking/trying to come up with something to respond to this entire situation.

He is overwhelmed and surprised, caught between his two main desires: Crowley and being a Good Angel.

Combing through the frames, we can actually nail down exactly when Aziraphale first makes eye contact before the IL- and when he stops. Keep the above comparison in mind! The angle is slightly different because his chin is lower and he straightens up throughout the scene.

So! This is where he starts looking at Crowley:

And this is where he stops:

Hard to see? Let's zoom in on his eyes (numbers are the file names):

Now, you might ask me "Alex, this is all fine, although a bit insane, but why is any of this important?"

Because, fellow tumblr user and good omens enthusiast, I think that looking at Crowley is what changes his mind about what to say.

He doesn't look at him -> about to confess his feelings.

He looks at him -> says the absolutely worst possible thing.

Partly to hurt him because they're both lashing out at each other during this argument, but he looks at Crowley, looks at the person that just kissed him, that told him they could have been an us, that wants him and has always wanted him, screw everyone else.

He looks at Crowley and he wants to say l love you but then what? Once he says those words, he can't leave. He just can't.

We have to remember that they have existed within a complicated dance, a game that they have been playing for centuries without ever telling each other what that game actually is, what the rules are - because they couldn't. It was based entirely on trust and knowing the other person well enough to play it safe.

Crowley just flipped the playing board. Nothing is the way it should be, he is refusing to do their dance, refusing to play. He is looking at him and daring him to stop trying to put the pieces back on the board. The only thing neither of them has done yet is actually say I love you out loud.

Saying those words would mean stepping away from the playing board and acknowledging the room they have been playing in. It would mean saying fuck you to heaven, yes, but it would also force Aziraphale to finally define himself outside of the role he has been playing for both Crowley and heaven, and he isn't ready for that yet.

Additionally, there is the fear and/or knowledge (depending on what else the Metatron might have said or done that we did not see) that heaven will retaliate against him and Crowley if he disobeys them now, and he does not want to risk that either.

All that is what, in my opinion, happens in his head when he averts his eyes and interrupts himself. I do kinda what to make a whole different post about his facial expressions leading up to the IFY, so I will end this one with one more bit of pain.

Ready?

Firstly, the face he makes when he makes his decision.

Look at the tight line of his lips, the pain etched into his face, the pure pain in his eyes.

This is the face of someone who knows exactly how badly he is going to hurt Crowley and himself. This is an apology, an I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, this hurts me as much as it hurts you. I'm sorry but I have to.

And then he winces afterwards. I don't know about you, but this is exactly the kind of face I make when I'm emotionally torturing myself with my own thoughts. For the final blow, please look at the picture very, very closely, especially the last frame, because Aziraphale isn't just sorry and he isn't just in pain.

Aziraphale is scared because he knows* that he might lose Crowley over this. He knows that saying I forgive you is (almost) unforgivable. He KNOWS.

He does it anyway because he will lose Crowley either way but he'd rather have him alive and hating him than dead.

With that I am concluding today's unhinged meta corner, thank you for your attention and you're welcome for the pain.

Also: If you want to call me a 'tin hatter' or insane or otherwise make fun of me - this is very much a girl, what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament moment because you read my meta post all the way to the end. <3

-

*authors note: what Aziraphale thinks he knows and what is actually real is not the same thing but that's a different post

[ktkellart]

Good Omens London Trip 🐍💞🪽

It's my Birthday today and I treated myself to a trip to London last weekend to see my favourite actor Michael Sheen in Nye at the National Theatre. I made the most of my weekend by combining it with a Good Omens filming location self-tour and I'd love to share it with you all. So, are you ready for the tour?

Here we go!

Starting off with Soho, and the inspiration for Whickber Street, where Aziraphale's bookshop, Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death, The Small Back Room, and the Dirty Donkey are located.

It’s Berwick Street and a record shop that is very similar in shape to A.Z Fell & Co. Bonus points for spotting Duck Lane!

Next is Berkeley Square, a short walk from Soho. The first two photos are of the real Berkeley Square gardens in Mayfair, and the last two photos were taken in the filming location of Tavistock Square across the other side of central London near Kings Cross. I’m sitting on their ‘body swap’ bench in the last photo!

As you can see, the benches are turned around facing inwards now but are the other way, facing outwards in Good Omens.

Oh, and I can confirm that there were no nightingales singing in either location 😭

Heading up the road a few minutes from Tavistock Square to The Enterprise pub where I met a fellow fan who kindly took photos of me posing (I bet the staff thought we were off our rockers!). This is where Crowley drowns his sorrows in Talisker Whisky whilst waiting for the world to end after thinking he'd lost Aziraphale. Omg that poor poor demon, he was really just gonna die along with the world.

Also, one of my favourite moments of season 1 is Crolwey's line: "I heard that. It was the wiggle-on..." then shrugs. 😆 So many emotions in such short a time.

Onto the Ritz. The first two photos are of the real Ritz (a stone's throw from Berkeley Square) and the last one is inside Masala Zone in Piccadilly Circus where the ‘Quite extraordinary amounts of alcohol’ and ‘To the World’ scenes were filmed.

I ate in here alone to get the photo and was so lucky with the table I was given! Perfect discreet snap whilst eating my curry! Haha!

Next up is Battersea Park and the Bandstand. It was a bit of a faff to get there, it's an 8-minute walk from the Battersea Power Station underground and we walked the full length of the park to find the Bandstand, but it was so worth it.

Also filmed here was Gabriel and Aziraphale’s run/jog. Poor Angel is soft scene.

The trees were a little leafier with it being mid-May and the park was very busy because the weather was glorious. They also have a beautiful lake here with herons!

The Heaven & Hell staircase escalators are right over the east side of London in Broadgate Tower, Bishopsgate. I got the overground to Liverpool Street station to get there. It is in a private business building so I politely/awkwardly asked the receptionist if I could take a photo and had to explain about the scene from Good Omens… eek! But he kindly let me snap a photo anyway! (Phew)

The Windmill Theatre was three minutes away from my hotel in Piccadilly Circus, so I wandered up the road to take a photo of where Aziraphale ‘performed on the West End stage’ as Fell the Marvelous. And wasn’t he just?

The scenes weren't filmed here but it was fun to find it anyway.

St James’s Park is up next! I sat on their bench and got my friend to take photos of me posing and had fun editing the first photo. Haha! We enjoyed walking through the park, watching the ducks on the lake and had a nosey at Buckingham Palace while we were there.

The Duke of York Statue steps are at the other end of St James's Park and were fun to walk up. I smiled to myself as I thought of the scene where Crowley says ‘Well let's have lunch? Hmm,’ and Aziraphale turns around, as it was the first time I realised that these two were more than just friends.

Heaven’s top floor, the Sky Garden in Fenchurch Street near Monument is a very tall building with a botanical garden on the top floor. You can visit the sky garden for free, but you do need to book in advance so it’s best to plan ahead for this one. The views of London are breathtaking from the 35th floor and the tropical plants are fun.

My last stop for this visit was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I booked a tour on the morning I was due to go home. The first tour is 10 am and lasts an hour, so I dashed off as soon as the tour guide was uttering his last words about the gift shop, across London back to Kings Cross to pick up my suitcase from luggage storage and get the 11:48 am train home!

One I missed and could have easily gone to is Abingdon Street where Newton and Shadwell meet, and Shadwell fleeces Newton for a cup of tea with nine sugars and pockets the change. A bit gutted I missed it to be honest – I love Jack Whitehall (I’m back in London with the family in June so I’ll swing by and update then!)

There are also some other locations a little further afield that I might try to visit on a later date, such as Shadwell's and Madam Tracy's flat down Hornsey Road in Islington, Crowley's Flat exterior in Eastfields Avenue, Best Cafe on Garratt Lane where Crowley meets Shadwell, Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park where the ineffable husbands watch Warlock defacing a dinosaur sign and Antonella's Cafe and Bistro where Crowley and Aziraphale are thinking of ideas to track down the antichrist whist Aziraphale eats cake.

Okay, I’m gonna finish up with the man himself. The very kind, very charming, and VERY patient Michael Sheen The reason for my London visit in the first place. Nye was spectacular OBviOUsLy, but he was super generous with his time at stage door for us all. I got a hug and asked him to pass it on to Aziraphale (that angel really needs a hug) and it made him laugh, which made my night!

Here’s the wonderful map I used -

from this website:

[haydenn]

I don’t know if I totally buy any of the current theories out there, but there is so much fuckery happening in the last sequence with the Metatron. And the thing I keep coming back to is that there is something fucking huge that we as the viewers are missing.

Firstly, when the Metatron suggests that he and Aziraphale need to have “a bit of a chinwag” Aziraphale implies that they’ve already had this conversation. The line is “I don’t believe there’s anything left to be said. I’ve made my position quite clear.”

The only time we’ve seen these two characters speak to each other on screen is at the end of season one. And that conversation is definitely not what Aziraphale is referring to. Further more, Aziraphale’s eyes shift in Crowley’s direction multiple times while he says that line. Az and the Metatron had a conversation that we did not see and that conversation either featured Crowley in some significant way or Aziraphale has intentionally not mentioned it to Crowley. Possibly both.

Secondly, there’s the coffee. Which I won’t go in to too much. It’s been analyzed to death at this point, but it’s fucky nonetheless.

Thirdly, the way the Metatron looks at Crowley as he’s leaving the shop is nothing short of chilling. The ominous music is an obvious clue that something is up, but the expression on the Metatron’s face is so full of loathing. It’s not an “ew, demon, gross” expression that the other angels give him. It’s pure, vindictive hatred and it feels so personal.

Fourthly, there is no part of the Metatron and Aziraphales conversation that we see on screen that Aziraphale isn’t narrating back to Crowley. We as the viewers have no idea what they really talked about. We just have to take Aziraphale’s word for it. The only part we see is the Metatron telling Az to “go and tell your friend the good news” and there is so much fuckery in this scene too!

The Metatron initially says “You don’t have to answer immediately. Take all the time you need.” And then when Aziraphale says “I don’t know what to say,” the Metatron takes that for an agreement and tells Az to “go and tell your friend the good news.” But Az never says yes. We never see him actually agree to go back to Heaven. We only get that in following scene when Az is relating what was said to Crowley.

Fifthly, for all the “good news” that Az has to tell Crowley, when he crosses the street back to the bookshop, he doesn’t look excited. He looks nervous and kind of scared. We don’t see him start to look even remotely excited until right before he starts talking. Aziraphale constantly has his emotions written all over his face. It’s a very intentional acting choice from Michael Sheen. Which leads me to believe that if Aziraphale was meant to be genuinely excited in this scene, it would have be all over his face from the moment we saw him outside with the Metatron. But it’s not. He schools his features into excitement right before he starts talking to Crowley.

This, for me, makes all of the flustered excitement with which he tells Crowley about the Metatron’s offer feel really disingenuous. It feels forced and slightly out of character because we fucking saw Aziraphale be not at all excited before he walked into the bookshop.

And finally, when the Metatron comes into the bookshop after Crowley leaves he asks “how did he take it?” And that is such a weird thing to say if he sent Az in there to tell Crowley “good news.” That’s not something that needs to be asked about good news. Good news is almost universally well received. You only really need to ask how news was taken if the news in question was bad.

The Metatron’s tone and mannerisms are also really different here then they were in the scenes before. Before he was giving off kindly, if a little creepy, grandfather vibes. Once he comes back into the bookshop he seems to have dropped that act. He’s not surprised that Crowley said no. He’s not at all bothered by or has any compassion for Aziraphale’s obvious distress. And his tone much more brusque and businesslike. Almost like he’s saying “Got that messy business with the demon sorted, have we? Jolly good. Let’s get on.” It’s a very notable shift from how we’ve seen him behave up to this point and it feels a hell of a lot more like how we’ve seen the Metatron be in Heaven with Gabriel’s trial or when he spoke to Az in season 1.

As I said before, I don’t know if I’m 100% on board with any of the theories I’ve seen. But everything about this sequence is weird and contradictory. There’s something so damn fucky about it and all of the context clues point to there being some vitality important piece that we are missing. The whole sequence is just screaming “There’s something very very wrong here. Do not believe your eyes and ears. All is not as it seems.” And I am going to be losing my damn mind over it until season 3 comes out.

Why has Neil done this to us?

[invisibleicewands]

Michael Sheen says 'it fills my heart' in passionate message about Wales that will give you goosebumps

Michael Sheen has been reflecting on what it is he loves about Wales ahead of his debut as Aneurin Bevan in new stage drama Nye - and his passionate message is enough to give you goosebumps.

Speaking to WalesOnline ahead of the play’s Cardiff run, Sheen opened up about why he keeps coming back to Wales and indeed now lives here again, even though his work takes him all over the world. “It’s my home,” he says. “It's where my family are, where my friends are, where I grew up. It's the country whose history is closest to my heart, whose people I care about the most, the communities that I care about the most. It is what shaped me, informed me, and what continues to shape and form me.

“Aside from anything to do with the natural beauty of the country, the warmth of the people, the history of the communities, how we grew up here, the challenges that we've had in the past and that we still face and that have shaped who we are now and why we are the way we are now and what our aspirations are, all of those things. [Wales is] what fills my head and fills my heart.”

The Newport-born, Port Talbot raised actor is recognised for his ability to transform into his characters, notably real life people like former Prime Minister Tony Blair, broadcaster David Frost, and controversial football manager Brian Clough.

Sheen, 55, who has more recently played Chris Tarrant in ITV drama Quiz and the angel Aziraphale in Good Omens opposite David Tennant, is now looking forward to starring in the title role of Nye, a co-production between the Wales Millennium Centre and the National Theatre, which sees the actor portray the founder of the National Health Service.

Interestingly, Nye will be the first time that Sheen performs on stage in his home country. Despite his groundbreaking performance as Jesus Christ in National Theatre Wales' The Passion which was staged on location across Port Talbot during Easter weekend in 2011, the actor revealed he's never actually fronted a show at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

“To be able to do this play and tell this story about this man on that stage is really exciting,” Sheen commented. “When we got there to start doing the tech and just stepped out onto the stage, it was really exciting. You could feel the whole company getting really excited and just looking out into that beautiful auditorium and just thinking about it being full of people coming to watch this play.

“The fact that we're telling this story, which is such a Welsh story about a Welsh legend, has been exciting from the very beginning. When we first started rehearsing, knowing that we'd be coming to Wales at the end of it, everyone was incredibly excited about that. To now actually be here and be just days away from starting the performance is quite thrilling.”

Sheen said that, perhaps for the first time in his career, he knew ‘everything’ about the man he was playing. A new play written by Tim Price, a synopsis for Nye reads: “Confronted with death, Nye's deepest memories lead him on a mind-bending journey back through his life; from childhood to mining underground, parliament and fights with Churchill in an epic Welsh fantasia.”

Sheen said of playing Bevan: “In the last 10 years I've come to really appreciate who [Aneurin Bevan] was and what he did and what he achieved. This was an opportunity to be able to put everything I knew and felt about him into a piece on stage.

“It’s a very particular challenge playing a real person who is very well known by the audience. That brings all kinds of unique challenges that you wouldn't normally get if you're playing a fictional character, obviously, or a real life person that people don't really know that well. And with playing Nye as well, it feels like a huge responsibility. I mean, it's a privilege to play him and to tell his story, but it's also a massive responsibility because there have been very few things out there about him, and it's such an important story.

“I already had such a strong feeling about him, a strong relationship to him and what he achieved. I know people who feel incredibly passionate about him and what he did. That brings an even greater level of responsibility to it. It was a great relief to know that once we started performing the play, people were accepting of me playing the part and were enjoying it and felt that it portrayed Bevan in a way that did him justice.”

Sheen added that the NHS itself has “always” been there for him throughout his life, citing moments in which he has lost family members and friends, as well as caring for his two children with Swedish actress partner Anna Lundberg, Lyra and Mabli. “It's not just one moment, it's a lifetime, lifelong relationship.”

Another relationship that Sheen has developed in recent years is with Doctor Who star David Tennant. The pair have been firm friends since appearing in both Staged and Good Omens with each other – both of which were hugely successful. Of his friendship with Tennant, Sheen jokes: “David and I will keep working together as long as we don't fall out!” While he ruled out more episodes of Staged, Sheen will reunite with Tennant when the third and final series of Good Omens enters production next year. When asked whether he knows what the future holds for his character, the actor said: “I know what's going to happen in the entire story but I'm not going to tell anyone.”

Before then Sheen will take on another real life role, playing Prince Andrew in a new series about the infamous Newsnight interview the royal did with Emily Maitlis. The story was adapted into Netflix film Scoop earlier this year: “I thought Rufus was fantastic,” Sheen said of Rufus Sewell’s performance as Prince Andrew in Scoop. “I thought he was brilliant as Andrew, he was much better than me. He was more a supporting character in that though. Our story is about Prince Andrew and Emily, it's much more they are the lead characters. It's a different focus and requires a different approach to the character. I was having to look at, as I'm sure Rufus did, the interview in particular. When we were working on it I was listening and watching the interview multiple times a day, every day for months.”

Reflecting on playing the divisive member of the Royal Family, Sheen said: “The level of controversy in that story brings an extra layer as well. The fact that for whatever all our personal opinions might be about what did or didn't happen, or what he did or didn't do, we don't know for definite. There's been no actual court case. We don't know exactly what happened.

"That requires a real level of sensitivity in how you deal with the story, apart from anything else because of legalities and that stuff, but when I read the script I thought that was handled really well. I thought it was a very clever way of allowing the audience to have a satisfying dramatic experience, but still keeping a level of ambiguity, which I thought was done very well on the script. Playing that character was challenging in all kinds of ways, as it is with every real-life character, but I also had to make certain choices and decisions about what was going on for him in my version.”

2024 has already been a busy year for Sheen as a few months ago, his directing debut The Way was released on BBC One – to mixed reviews. Reflecting on the project, which was shot in Wales, he said: “It was quite extraordinary to be attacked by Conservative ministers in the press on the day that it came out, and then to have right-wing newspapers having a concerted plan to try and smear it.

"We didn't expect that just before it came out the news would come out from the steelworks. It was a huge shock and obviously affected the way people perceive the story of the drama. It was never intended to be a socio-documentary about what was going on at the steelworks. It was my first time directing something and to be able to tell that story and film it around south Wales with an amazing Welsh cast was such a brilliant experience.”

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Good Omens season 2 ending and Crowley's (probable) Time Stop

When it comes to the Good Omens season 2 ending, I'm firmly on Team Time Stop, which is to say that I think Crowley has this spectacularly useful skill for moments of extreme duress, when there's intense pressure and huge stakes and no time to think or privacy to talk. He used that power to great effect towards the end of season 1 when he and Aziraphale stepped out of time in the middle of the panic of Armageddon to take some deep breaths and help Adam prepare to confront His Father.

So, in the emotionally fraught bookshop scene at the end of season 2, when Aziraphale is acting strange and trying to communicate something unspoken and urgent, and they're each full of strong emotions and feeling like there's no time to listen to one another or process what's happening, and there's no privacy (hello, Metatron and Muriel at the window), and maybe they're splitting up for who knows how long to take on very dangerous tasks, and they're angry and hurt and frustrated with one another, and they both have SO MUCH they want to say, how could Crowley NOT use his power to stop time so they can breathe, talk, think, and plan?!

When did it happen? Right after Crowley says "no nightingales" seems like the most likely time. I think Michael Sheen responds to "no nightingales" by doing something with his face - his expression and his jaw - that reflects something extra but unknown to us has just happened. It might only be that "no nightingales" has extra meaning to them that we don't know about yet, but I do think a time stop here is very likely.

Still not sure? Here's what convinced me that a time stop was likely: First, there's all the symmetry, or repetition, between seasons 1 and 2. From small things like ducks and "have a gold star", to big things like magic and the 1941 minisode and Aziracrow sheltering one another with their wings and holding hands with someone who is between them. Gifs of some parallels are here, thanks to @mizgnomer. It seems very possible that Crowley stopped time again as another kind of symmetry/repetition.

And if you need more? The movie poster for Stairway to Heaven features in the s2 opening credits and in Maggie's store, and that movie uses a lot of time stopping so characters can talk, out of the moment.

And the promo "poster" for season 2 features the main bookshop clock, prominently watching over Aziraphale and Crowley.

And there's this: the "Life After Death" leitmotif plays in s1 ("we're on our own side", moments before they swap appearances), and again in s2 ("I don't think you understand what I'm offering you" … moments before a body swap? Or maybe a time stop.) That conversation, "I don't think you understand / I understand a whole lot better than you" could have been the catalyst for Crowley to realize they need to TALK and have time to LISTEN. Maybe Crowley finally tells Aziraphale what he learned in heaven, and maybe Aziraphale tells Crowley the truth about his conversation with The Metatron. And then they will both actually understand more than they did before...

And, one final Clue: the TWO clocks in the bookshop, which both display the SAME "continuity error" during the Aziracrow conversation and kiss, where 15 minutes seems to pass unaccounted for. Maybe it's an in-universe character's continuity error, and not an accident of the production team.

Details for the two clocks including screenshots, and info about Stairway to Heaven as it relates to GO, are here in the reblog comments.

(And there are lots of other interesting links to support this and other theories in my collection of Clues and metas.)

So while there's some question about what happened when they stopped time (more on that in a bit), I'm definitely on Team Time Stop as part of the ending of season 2!

[whatthedamnhelldude]

“I’m sorry… I lied”

I know there’s a lot of different opinions on what he’s saying, or trying to say, but this makes the most sense to me. For the record, I’m on team “Aziraphale lied” for the situation with the Metatron. He’s NOT excited about this job offer before coming back into the bookshop, his arguments to get Crowley to come with him are horrible (“You’re the bad guys”? Really???), give me coffee or give me death except nobody ever chooses death, etc. Anyway, back to “I’m sorry I lied”

-We see him mouth “trust me” successfully to Crowley in 1941. They’ve communicated this way before.

-When he and Crowley talk in the back room with Inspector Constable in the bookshop, Aziraphale tells Crowley the following: “And I'm very much afraid that... that angel out there will establish very quickly that I lied to Heaven about the miracle in question.” Except when Michael Sheen delivers the line, his voice almost completely drops out when he says “I lied.” Could be a coincidence, could be a very deliberate acting choice.

-Aziraphale is facing away from the Metatron in this shot, so he isn’t in a position to read Aziraphale’s lips. This is the only way for Aziraphale to communicate clearly to Crowley with the Metatron nearby.

[avocado-writing]

all michael sheen characters are obsessed with thighs. why? because i said so

aziraphale? enamoured with ur thighs. loves to rest his head on them and cuddle u.

roland? needs to be gripping your thighs at all times or else he’ll die.

martin? bites them constantly. just leaves hickies all over your thighs.

william? secretly obsessed with feeling them around his face or his hips when u ride him.

thank u for coming to my ted talk

eriuroi;ewuwqioqweroewrwe

i think i should thank you for letting me come to your....... michael talk😎 YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

but the idea of roland being like "doll, my hand has to be here. it's a medical thing. you want to be responsible for my death?"

[ineffable-endearments]

A Matter of Life and Death / Stairway to Heaven (1946)

Posted for the @gomenseveryday countdown to Good Omens 2! 16 days to go!

I was able to watch this old movie just by searching for the title on Roku. At least in my region, there are a few free apps you can download to watch it - there were commercials, but not too many.

This movie had two different titles: Stairway to Heaven in the US, and A Matter of Life and Death in the UK.

I’ll admit, old movies can be hard for me to get into because - and this is difficult to explain, but I’ll do my best - the language, the framing of stories, and the very cinematography is so different from what I’m used to. It’s definitely not about special effects and has nothing to do with the quality of the story or acting; it’s something vague. It’s like a dialect of a language that I speak, where I can understand a lot of it, but there are serious gaps in my understanding. As a result, I might miss social cues that most contemporaries of those movies would have picked up with no problem (like slang expressions). If you’ve seen this movie and my interpretation sounds off, there is a good chance it’s because the movie is more than twice as old as I am and I don’t fully know what I’m talking about.

Stairway to Heaven is referenced in the opening sequence to Good Omens 2 (the link leads right to the opening sequence, so don’t click it if you want to keep that a surprise), and has also been mentioned by Michael Sheen as a favorite movie. It’s about a World War II pilot named Peter Carter whose “time is up,” who is supposed to die as he ejects from his burning plane without a parachute - but Conductor 71, his usher to the afterlife (a former French aristocrat who has been dead for a long time), loses track of him in the soupy fog of the English channel. Peter has to appeal to a Higher Authority for an extended lifetime with his new beloved, the American operator at an army base who took what he believed was going to be his final call from his plane. Her name is June.

While Peter is experiencing this heavenly appeal, his doctor and love interest are assuming that his struggle is “real to him” but not literal; they believe he is having many very complicated hallucinations that he needs to work through, while in the physical world, surgery needs to be done on his brain to prevent lasting damage.

It’s said at the beginning of the movie that the ethereal events take place in the pilot’s imagination. While I can take that somewhat at face value, the movie presents the afterlife trial as very real, intermingling it with Peter’s brain surgery and appearing to affect the world around him physically. The movie validates the pilot’s experience and the complexity of the ideas he’s grappling with, while acknowledging that his brain injury is also a physical reality. I can’t be entirely certain whether the success of the surgery led to Peter’s survival or whether the success of the ethereal trial led to the success of the surgery, and I suspect that’s the whole point.

It’s a thoughtful movie with much more to it than just the similarities to Good Omens. However, this post is about those similarities.

There are so many familiar things here. The afterlife as a bureaucracy? Oh, yes, it has that in spades. Theres also an amusing scene wherein Conductor 71 stops time to have a chat with Peter. The main characters are English and US-American, too, and an element of “sides” is introduced in the form of debate over the cultures of England and the USA. This is no concern to Peter and June, but it is very concerning indeed to the afterlife entities who died during historical events.

All in all, I’d highly recommend this movie if you want to connect with some familiar ideas as they manifested in a story from many decades ago. Note that the movie does date itself sometimes. To my relatively untrained eye, it seemed pretty respectful, although there were a few stereotypes that you might expect from 1946, and I think it tried to boldly face some aspects of history (e.g. England's imperialism) while continuing to sanitize others. Overall, though, I'd recommend it!

EDIT: Oh, dear. I didn't notice, but after reading online, I've been informed that there's blackface in the movie. One of the celestial characters is intended to be a Black American, but during part of his appearance on-screen, the film switches from black and white to Technicolor, and you can see that he's played by a white actor. This information is from TV Tropes and I can't seem to find screenshots of any related parts of the movie, but you should be warned that it's in there.

[slowlystupendousdelusion]

So I saw Nye the other day

Assorted thoughts:

I didn't know that much about him beyond him being Welsh, NHS architect and that they have a statue of him outside Cardiff McDonalds which has the largest amount of bird shit on a statue I have ever seen, so this was also educational.

(Side note: isn't it mad that he's not really talked about that much? Like they spend so long in school banging on about the war they don't talk about the social reforms in the aftermath? Actually this may be due to me dropping history in year 9)

So first of all NT is lovely (at least the inside of it is, I'm clearly a philistine cause I can't get behind the architecture 😅) and we had fairly cheap tickets in the stalls but were still quite close. We were off to the side so the view of one side of the stage was slightly impeded due to the curtains but this didn't impede my enjoyment!

The conceit of the play is that Nye is on his death bed and having morphine-fuelled flashbacks to moments in his life. And the play really takes you through a whole gamut of emotions. (I was going through them like a sine curve)

The joy in the scene where Nye is shown a library for the first time is absolutely infectious. Him chatting up Jennie also made me beam. Before watching, I was worried this scene would be a bit cringe, but Sheen really sold it.

Actually there were quite a lot of laugh out loud bits throughout which felt like quite a feat given that it's interspersed with being on the verge of tears.

Him trying to keep busy to avoid the reality of his father's sickness and impending death and the frustration of his sister is so heartbreaking and so so real. And then later Jennie saying We don't talk about/ he doesn't want to talk about it (emotions) is so sad and really rings true for men of that era.

There were some quite clear parallels being made with politics today which I found quite depressing. Why have the conversations on benefits not moved on in 90 or so years?? (Side note: At the time I really thought that the pandemic would be a catalyst for change in the same way the war had been. The fact that it has not been is so disappointing to me and i was rudely reminded of this when watching) Seeing him raise himself up to MP is quite inspirational, but it did make me question how possible that would be today.

It was quite refreshing to see Churchill portrayed more disparagingly. I wonder if it was perhaps a bit uncharitable to Jennie Lee? She tries to hide the severity of his condition and they speak far more about her infidelity (while glossing over Nye's) which doesn't exactly cover her in glory.

I'm not sure the ending worked that well for me - I think it was supposed to be a celebration that the NHS was able to give people dignity at the end of life, but I came out sad that even with all his hard work, the NHS wasn't able to save him.

Anyway, obviously Michael Sheen was very good, and turns out he can also sing? He is very much front and centre on this - the other characters are rather more in the background. I was also impressed Kezrena James who switched effortlessly between accents when switching characters.

So for the set I love the use of the hospital curtains as curtains (lovely colour too!) and this really makes the red pyjamas pop against them. And obviously you couldn't put Nye in the more traditional blue striped pyjamas for party political reasons. Jennie also wears a lot of red (and I had shoe envy in the hospital scenes too). The way they adapted the curtains to look like the house of commons seats was really clever.

The use of beds was interesting and I suppose needed to stop the hospital setting becoming a bit static. Actually there must have been a lot of choreography needed for this and they make it look effortless. Some of the humour is derived directly from the movement too.

The use of lasers to show a rock face in a coal mine while showing a heart rate was visually interesting but I'm not sure how well it worked for me - maybe it worked better from a head-on seat? I did enjoy the miners lamp lighting the dark stage prior to that bit though.

I think my favourite scene aesthetically was the one right before the interval as his father is dying and the stage is all dark, evoking the coal mine, the spotlight on the (white) bed with his dad laying across it also all dressed in black.

So overall there was quite a lot going on in this play. The song number doesn't feel jarring because of the context of fitful dreams. I almost think it might work better in a film context than theatre though? I don't know whether it's maybe trying to accomplish too much - it tries to cover both the story of Nye the person and the creation of the NHS and switches focus between the halves. Both of those topics (albeit intertwined) would be more than enough to cover within a two hour play! There are so many things that are mentioned in passing but they don't have time to explore - the unconventional marriage, why did Jennie have to give up her career for Nye? (I assume 1930s 30ing but I don't actually know and it's not obvious?), did his relationship with his sister improve?, what was going on with the Labour party factions etc etc. But I guess part of the point is to encourage people to find out more.

There isn't that long left of the run but I definitely would recommend for an enjoyable evening if you can make it (and you might even learn something!)

[bboysmom]

I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to an acting choice of Michael Sheen’s, S1E6, when Leslie the mail carrier is picking up the sword crown and scales, and mentions his wife.

L: Do you believe in life after death?

A: I suppose I must do.

L: Because if I were to tell my wife —

A: (gives Crowley the up and down like they’re an ox rib they’d like to spend eternity consuming)

L: —what happened to me tonight, she’d never believe me.

Sir? Young man? Baby girl? Your face.

[actual-changeling]

i wish i could say something smarter but i have watched this scene so many times my brain is literally fried plus my sleep meds are kicking in hard

just. look at his reaction when crowley says you idiot, we could have been US. for the first time during that entire conversation, possibly for the very first time ever, he realizes what exactly crowley means by that.

the entire time they have been talking past each other and misunderstanding what the other is saying. but now? after crowley brought up the nightingales? told him we could have been us like it means something, like it's everything - and it is. to him, it is everything. aziraphale is everything.

all his anger just fades away completely for a moment when the realization hits.

he is looking straight at him, and while he can no longer see crowley's eyes, he still knows him. he can still read him. the pain is so clear in everything crowley is saying, written across his face and practically dripping from his voice.

it's the cliche oh moment. it's the you love me? me? that's what you have been saying all this time?

and while crowley has had a lot of time to come to terms with that fact, aziraphale is still struggling with their entire presence on earth and who they are, deep down. he is overwhelmed, he doesn't know what to say, fuck, he practically gave up on crowley and was ready to let him walk away after running after him the first time.

the tears in his eyes hurt me and once again michael sheen can be written down as my cause of death because this is a handful of frames carrying so much MEANING it kills me.

then he turns away, turns to his LEFT where crowley should be, trying to hide his face and tears in the emptiness he left behind because that's all he has now - his shadow. a gaping hole where his crowley should be, and for the first time he clearly understands what it means to be his and to have someone else.

i love you. that's what he was about to say.

i love you. i love us.

and then there's the part neither of them says because they are too caught up in what they don't have to take a proper look at what they are.

i have loved us this entire time.

they have never needed anything but each other but both think they're not good enough for the other the way they are, that they need to fundamentally change to be worthy of that love.

and once more, they are both wrong.

[ingravinoveritas]

Review: Litvinenko

(**Warning: Spoilers for the first episode of “Litvinenko” below. Read at your own discretion.**) I had the opportunity to watch the first episode of Litvinenko this week (and as far as I know, the only one that David is actually in) and wanted to share my thoughts.

For the past few years, I have loved and admired David’s fictional characters, the ones he throws himself into with aplomb. With every one, there has been a sparkle, a twinge--even for the briefest moment--of David himself, of that cheeky Scottish charm we all know and adore so well.

But there’s something genuinely different about playing real people. Playing a real person requires not only talent, but a sense of discernment--of knowing what to emphasize and what to downplay, especially when the subject matter is still so recent. When I think of some of the most nuanced and skillful portrayals of actual humans--living or deceased--I immediately think of Michael Sheen (whom David has also praised for his remarkable talents).

Yet twice now in recent memory, David has given us two unforgettable portrayals of two vastly different real people. With Dennis Nilsen in Des, it was that absence of humanity that David depicted to chilling effect. A blank emptiness that served to elucidate the indifference Des seemed to feel toward his own depraved deeds.

With Alexander Litvinenko (Sasha), it’s exactly the opposite. David portrayed Sasha with an abundance of humanity, and made us care so deeply about this man whose life was cut so tragically short. It was David’s eyes that particularly drew me into the story and into who Sasha was. The intensity of his gaze belied an incredible dignity, the dignity of a man who deeply loved his family and adopted country, and who was robbed of the opportunity to face his killers and the system that enabled them to perpetrate this crime.

I found myself so enraptured by David’s performance that when the police announced Sasha’s death, I actually gasped. It somehow felt like losing both Sasha and David at once, like losing someone you genuinely cared for, and the horrific nature of the death made it even more wrenching. This wasn’t just a man who died, this was a man who was assassinated--brutally, systematically, senselessly--all because he stood up to a murderous despot running an autocratic regime.

David made sure to show us that Sasha’s life mattered, and even more importantly, so did his death. It was, without question, an indelible performance, a transformation so astonishing that there was not a trace of David himself to be found. And as far as the criticisms of his accent that I’ve read go, I would say there is no validity to them whatsoever. Not only was he playing a character with a different accent, he was playing a dying man whose ability to speak became greatly compromised as his body failed. I can think of few things more challenging for any actor, and yet David pulled it off remarkably.

My only criticisms of this episode/the show overall is that everything that didn’t involve David felt very middling--a by-the-numbers British police procedural. We were most connected to Sasha and his humanity, and when he wasn’t on screen, it acutely felt as though something was missing, as if all the color drained out of the show, and the process of investigating what happened felt too “ordinary” for the extraordinary nature of the crime.

There were also numerous missed opportunities that made David/Sasha’s disappearance feel even more abrupt. The story literally goes from Sasha at home, poisoned, to him in the hospital sixteen days later on the verge of death, with nothing in between. I would’ve loved to have seen more of Sasha’s decline--how he put the pieces together, whom he suspected, or even the scene in the sushi restaurant. There could’ve also been flashback scenes in subsequent episodes of Sasha meeting with the Italian man, or other characters, or having conversations with Marina as he grew sicker. So it’s just a shame that that didn’t happen.

Overall, though, I was and am deeply moved by what David did, and by the end of the episode, I found myself in tears. Tears not only for Sasha and his wife Marina and the courage it took for him to do what he did, but for the courage it took David to play this role and the production team to tell this story. I truly hope that the BAFTAs and and any/all awarding bodies acknowledge David for his work in Litvinenko, because he absolutely deserves it.

[littlestsnicket]

hmm i feel like i had a quite different take on the end of good omens season 2 than what i’m seeing people talk about, but i kind of want to rewatch it before i share what i’m thinking in case i’m wrong? i don’t really think i’m wrong.

idk. i’m waiting for someone to email me back before i can do the thing i’m supposed to do for work.

fuck it.

so, the thing is, i think aziraphale would have gone to heaven anyway. like, it went the way it did because the metatron manipulated him, but if someone had flat out told him ‘the leader of heaven needs to bring about the second coming, do you want that to be you?’ aziraphale 100% would have said yes to try and stop it. this is consistent with what we see in season 1, and it’s consistent with michael sheen’s look of fear but mostly grim determination in the elevator before he smooths it out again so the metatron doesn’t notice.

and crowley knows. i think he’s terrified in the bookshop that aziraphale is at his most naive and can’t deal with this. and i think at the end that crowley is still deeply upset about how aziraphale is going about this, but i don’t read the face david tennent is making at the end as sad or angry or hopeless. that’s also grim determination. whatever he sees when aziraphale enters the elevator reassures him that that is his angel who forced the armies of heaven and hell to stand down with a rhetorical trick and who can wield a fuckin exploding halo.

crowley is upset that this is happening. he feels so deeply how unfair it is that he and aziraphale are too closely tied to earth to run, that they’ve already saved the world once and they likely have to do it again, he feels betrayed that this is god’s plan, but he also knows and trusts aziraphale. he knows that, while aziraphale is emotionally vulnerable and fragile in many ways, the moment everything he loves is on the line, he can handle whatever the universe throws at him. he can pull off the magic trick that he would fumble under less than life or death pressure.

[craftyballoonwinner]

Bloodborn Main Lead

Ok people here me out.

I know Sony is kicking around a script for Bloodborn but wouldn't it just be dreamy to have the Scrawny Fucker Who Heralds Death take the main lead on this? That coat, that hat, that Saw Cleaver! Bonus points if he uses his natural Scottish accent because the playable character can be anyone. They could even cast Michael Sheen to be a Cainhurst hunter and one of the main fights is both hunters fighting for the Cainhurst crown!!

Don't look at that face and tell me he wouldn't be a good hunter. We all know who would kill this part. Come on Sony. You could make millions.

[denimbex1986]

'Everyone’s favorite fast-driving demon and bookshop-owning angel are returning for one last adventure.

Amazon Prime Video announced Thursday that Good Omens, Neil Gaiman’s apocalyptic comedy series, has been renewed for a third and final season. Gaiman will return to write and executive produce the show, wrapping up the story of Michael Sheen’s angel Aziraphale and David Tennant’s demon Crowley.

Gaiman adapted the show from his original 1990 novel with Terry Pratchett, and the first season hewed closely to the plot of the book, chronicling Armageddon through the eyes of Aziraphale and Crowley. The second season followed the unlikely celestial pair as they faced new threats from heaven and hell, ultimately ending on an emotional cliffhanger. (Spoiler alert: The angel and demon confess their feelings for one another in the final episode, only to part ways as Aziraphale takes a new job running heaven.)

Gaiman has said that after the book first hit shelves, he and Pratchett had many conversations about where Aziraphale and Crowley’s story might go next, and before Pratchett’s death in 2015, they even sketched out plans for an unwritten sequel. In a news release, Gaiman said that the third season of the show will complete the saga that he and Pratchett set out to tell all those years ago.

“I'm so happy finally to be able to finish the story Terry and I plotted in 1989 and in 2006,” Gaiman said. “Terry was determined that if we made Good Omens for television, we could take the story all the way to the end. Season One was all about averting Armageddon, dangerous prophecies, and the End of the World. Season Two was sweet and gentle, although it may have ended less joyfully than a certain Angel and Demon might have hoped. Now in Season Three, we will deal once more with the end of the world. The plans for Armageddon are going wrong. Only Crowley and Aziraphale working together can hope to put it right. And they aren't talking.”

Earlier this year, Tennant and Sheen opened up to EW about the overwhelming fan response to the show, explaining that when they first signed on to play Crowley and Aziraphale, they assumed it would only be for a single season.

"Neil would often tell stories of how him and Terry had dreamed of a sequel, and there were some ideas they kicked around that they never got to explore," Tennant said at the time. "But there was no sense initially that would actually bear fruit."

"They even had a name for the sequel that never got written," Sheen added. "It always used to make me laugh so much because the name they had come up with was 668: The Neighbor of the Beast."

Per Amazon, Good Omens season 3 is scheduled to begin “soon” in Scotland, with a release date yet to be announced.'

[newagesispage]

                                                                         SEPTEMBER 2022

THE  RIB  PAGE

Season 11 of American Horror Story is almost here!! Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are also working on the new American Sports Story and American Love Story! This season is still secret, of course, but it seems that it will include Billie Lourd, Isaac Powell, Patti Lupone, Zachary Quinto and Sandra Bernhard!!!!! Some have said that it will be set in the 70’s and or 80’s.

*****

Micky Dolenz has sued the FBI to find out more about a Monkees FBI file. His lawyer stated,“the lawsuit seeks to expose why the FBI was monitoring the Monkees and its individual members. The 7 page file was released in 2011 but was heavily redacted. It includes an FBI source who went to a 1967 concert with “subliminal messages” on screen, “which constituted left wing innovations of a political nature. Dolenz states that he has “exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies.”

*****

Kansas voted to protect abortion rights.

*****

Days alert: WE HATE U NBC!!!!! Taking off Days, a program that has been loyal and steady since 1964!!?? Peacock? What a great way to ease it out. They have been looking for a way to get rid of it for some time. I guess they finally figured out a way just so they could add more news. Nobody is a bigger news junkie than me but there are plenty of more reliable news outlets than NBC. Gimme a break! But, I digress. So glad to see Xander and Sarah working together to get to the truth. What the fuck is wrong with Stephanie? Does she not know about the evil in some of Salem’s residents?? I know she was a bit of a rebel back in her driving days but she wasn’t stupid! **Please, bring Tate and his Mother back to town!** It is cute the way we are seeing Gabi and Stefon’s love story thru Rolf. ** Hooray for Roman and Kate! Now if the ladies can just save themselves and put Orpheus in his place, things will be just fine.

*****

I can’t believe Better Call Saul is over. Salute to one of the best shows ever to hit our screens. What a great way to use the Nesmith demo there towards the end. There was not a bad performance in the bunch but let’s really not forget Michaell Mckean and his astounding work!!!!!

*****

Hillary Clinton was there for opening night of the79th Venice Film Fest.

*****

Batgirl was nearly finished and WB/ Discovery shut down post production.  Was it because of taxes?

*****

Kelli Giddish is leaving Law and Order SVU. It was not her choice.

*****

Polio?? Really??

*****

What?? Arizona sold their back-up water supply to the Saudi’s?? I could not believe that this was true until I found out it was. The Arizona State land dept. sold thousands of acres to a Saudi Corp., Fondomonte. They have leased the right to pump as much water as they want and sell it back to Arizonians. What??

*****

Bill Paxton had a stroke in 2017, following an aortic aneurysm during a valve replacement. His family settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Cedars- Sinai Medical Center.

*****

The latest sexual misconduct news: Gary Busey was arrested on 2 counts of criminal sexual contact,  1count criminal attempt/ criminal sexual contact in the 4th degree, 1 count harassment, disorderly persons offense. ** Arcade Fire’s Win Butler has been accused by 4 people of sexual misconduct. ** In 2016, it was learned that Charlie Sheen had exposed about 25 women to HIV without divulging that info. He just settled one of those cases for $120,000.** Former Buffalo Bill, Matt Araiza has been accused of rape.

*****

Young Thug and Gunna Face were arrested under the RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organization) Act with evidence dating back to 2013.

*****

Plesiosaurus fossils have been found in the Sahara Desert. Plesiosaurs in fresh water???? This does help the Lochness believers.

*****

Jon Batiste is leaving The Late Show.

*****

Kathy Griffin asked for help from the internet crowd. It seems that medical personnel sent her a copy of her latest cancer scan with no explanation. Luckily some image readers out there helped her out since she could not get a return call from her physician. It is not just the civilians out there that are getting shoddy service, it is everywhere.  

*****

The Georgia case has heated up. First Sen Graham claimed he couldn’t testify, then he was told to take a bus, an Uber, whatever and testify. Soon a delay was granted so they can decide about testimony that involves the full role of a Senator.

*****

Biden has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt, the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower, the most judges confirmed since Kennedy, the second largest health care bill since Johnson and the largest climate change bill in history. -Klain

*****

The 87,000 new IRS agents will be phased in over 10 years. 50,000 are set to retire. This will bring the number of employed to 2013 levels.

*****

Florida GOP candidate, Martin Hyde threatened a Police officer’s job when he was pulled over for speeding and texting. It seems that every day we see another example of politicians thinking that the laws do not apply to them. I thought they supported law and order.

*****

Joe Pesci, Edie Falco and Pete Davidson will star in TV’s Bupkis which will be executive produced by Lorne Michaels.

*****

Gotta check out Leslie Jones, Ken Jong and Jason Alexander in Out of Office.

*****

The FBI went into Mar A Lago because Scary Clown 45 did not return all the boxes of info that he said he did. I mean, he was the one who signed some of this into law!  His lawyers lied to the DOJ and sort of forced the hand of the DOJ. 18 months ago, the National Archives asked the DOJ to look into the missing boxes. The Trump crazies have run to his aid. Not only do we have to worry about what they may be doing to our voting rights and elections, now we have this. The threats to law enforcement, the FBI and the military by the Trump gang is atrocious. How can bullies be so upset about Hillary’s emails which is just a step over the line, when Trump has run way past the line? More than 300 documents have been recovered since January. I am sure that Scary Clown loves the optics of this. Is that why he kept them, just so they would HAVE to come and take them. He knows that details are not made public in ongoing investigations but we have gotten to see a little of the affidavit. And let’s not forget the Chinese operatives that were once found at Mar A Lago. All of that top secret info was vulnerable. If nothing else, we are looking at obstruction. There are strict protocols with classified info. There was a system in place for the most sensitive materials which the Trump administration does not seem to have followed. How do we know that other countries have not already seen this material? In cases of espionage, it takes years for spies to infiltrate and gather info.

*****

George W. Bush changed the rules with the Presidential records act that used to let us see things in 12 years but now it is 20.

*****

Scary Clown’s current legal team includes a Florida insurance lawyer who’s never had a federal case, a past General counsel for a parking garage company and a former host with far right One America News. - Washington Post

*****

Judith Giuliani has sued Rudy for $262,000 in divorce settlement money she says he owes. She also claims she has “bailed him out” with about $70,000. In 2020, he was sued by Miller Gafney art advisory for $15,000. Dominion Voting has sued for $1.3 billion. The District of Columbia and NY have suspended his law license.  

*****

Paul Rudd will join season 3 of Only Murders in the building.

*****

Does the T Rex have small arms so they can hold onto their mates during sex?? Some scientists are telling us that.

*****

Edie McClurg’s family have said that she suffers from dementia and is being victimized by a friend.

*****

Former Detroit Lions Rob Sims and Calvin Johnson have formed Primitiv in Michigan. The Cannabis co. Was inspired by all the injuries they and their teammates suffered on the field.

*****

Is this true? Aaron Rodgers claims he took ayahuasca, a psychedelic and it worked wonders for him. It is apparently not on the NFL’s list of off limit drugs. He has made comments that he is a magic mushroom fan as well.  

*****

Keenan Thompson will host the Emmy’s.

*****

Johnny Depp will direct Al Pacino in Modigliani.

*****

I always wanted David Alan Grier to host one of the late- night shows. Thanks to Kimmel, we saw that he is a fabulous host!! He is a natural! More Please!!  Late Late show??** It was great to see Al Franken as host as well. People talk of him running for Senate again. As much as I would personally like that, I think he has more influence as host or talking head because he can be less inhibited and have a bigger impact. That said, I stick with my dream ticket from a few years back of he and Stacey Abrams as a Presidential ticket. Don’t care who is on top.

*****

Dollface was cancelled.

*****

Salmon Rushdie was stabbed on stage as he was beginning a speech about the U.S. being a safe haven for exiled writers.

*****

The word is that Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb do not really get along. Some were concerned that when Savannah was late for work, it was to make a point! Some insiders say that the fans love Kotb and the NBC execs love Guthrie.

*****

Why do Piers Morgan and Chris Christie remind me so much of each other? Are they related?

*****

R.I.P. Robyn Griggs, Freya the walrus, John Eastman, Ben Stern, Lamont Dozier, Teddy Ray, Vin Scully, Mary Alice, Roger E. Mosley, Anne Heche, Olivia Newton John, Jessica Klein, Denise Dowse, Virginia Patton, Wolfgang Petersen, Bob Lupone, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill McCormack, William Reynolds and David McCullough.