Bad behavior in Hollywood, good behavior in business, and Linda Dano
Maureen Ryan, Brian Chesky, the SyFy Sistas, and fun times with Trek, Marry, Kill
Changing things up this week!
Hollywood & Levine with Maureen Ryan
Have you read Burn It Down yet? Author Maureen Ryan is an entertainment journalist I have followed for ages; her reporting is trustworthy, nuanced, and fascinating. Her book digs into painstakingly researched tales of abuse in Hollywood, then offers solutions for a way to move forward.
She was a guest on Hollywood & Levine two weeks in a row, and lucky me, I didn’t know about it ahead of time so I got to skip the waiting time between episodes.
She and Ken Levine know each other and have a level of trust that’s important when digging in to tricky topics like this. She explained what drove her to write the book, how it all comes from her love of TV (hello!), and how she did her research. Highly recommend—and you can listen to the episodes back-to-back like I did!
Trek, Marry, Kill dives into Strange New Worlds season 2
I’m behind on this delight of a Star Trek podcast. You remember the format, right?
Bryan and Kristen are in perfect form on this one, even though I only agreed with maybe 2/3 of their opinions this time. But there’s one hill I’d die on, and they’re standing right there with me as we shake our fists at the sky in unison.
Attention, all new Star Trek shows: Stop trying to make captain’s catchphrases happen! I don’t know why Picard saying “Make it so” made everybody think it was a thing. Did Kirk have a catchphrase? Sisko? Janeway? Archer?
Captain Pike says “Hit it” and Captain Burnham says “Let’s fly,” both of which I find a little forced, but this issue didn’t start seriously grinding my gears until Saru on Discovery fretted, out loud, about his catchphrase options. Lower Decks made fun of the idea (exactly!), but then Picard had a cringey bridge scene where everyone asks Seven what her phrase is going to be. “There’s a long history of this,” Raffi tells her.
Narrator: There is not a long history of this.
Strange New Worlds did the same thing to Spock. “Everyone in the chair has their thing,” Ortegas says. No they don’t! It’s not a thing! Stop saying that! (I still love you anyway, Ortegas.)
Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one bothered by Chapel’s terrible wig. (Solidarity, Kristen!) Whether you agree with them or not, these two are always fun to listen to.
Brian Chesky talks Airbnb and loneliness
An Experts on Experts episode caught my eye (ear?), even though I’d never heard of the guest before: Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb.
Brian and Dax talk about what being an industrial designer means, where the idea for Airbnb came from, and how detrimental loneliness can be to human health. Brian explains why streamers were okay with losing money for years, how fast technology is accelerating human society, and what rules should have been instituted for social media.
I assume Brian does a lot of public speaking, because every time they asked him a question, he talked nonstop, making the podcast less conversational than usual. That said, he’s smart and thoughtful, he knows what he’s talking about, and he sounds like a decent guy. I mean, he’s friends with Barack Obama, an A+ credential in my book.
I really liked what Brian had to say on a variety of topics. Check it out.
The Office Ladies are back from vacation
My timeline mapping has begun! Jenna Fischer gave Angela Kinsey birthday presents, which means they were recording on or around June 25. The SAG-AFTRA strike started July 14, so they might still have two or three episodes before they have to stop reviewing, unless they decided to do things Delta Flyers-style and crammed in some extra recording sessions.
Last week was “Pool Party.” Not a favorite of mine, not the show’s finest season, but still (as always with these two) a fun podcast episode.
Speaking of episodic rewatch podcasts…
Jim O’Heir and Greg Levine have put the Parks and Recollection podcast on hiatus until the strike is over.
And now for something completely different: Linda Dano!
I just found out that Linda Dano has a podcast! You might know her from either her Lifetime talk show Attitudes or the Saturday Night Live parody of it with Nora Dunn as Linda, but for me, she will always be Felicia Gallant on my beloved, long-running (but now long-canceled) soap Another World.
So far, four of her episodes are with people from AW. Heaven! Okay, sometimes Linda’s dog barks or she hits the mic or bangs her jewelry around... And you know what? It’s fine. It’s part of her charm!
I still remember Linda’s first day as Felicia. She went on to play her for sixteen years, all of which I watched, so if she’s gonna get together with some AW buddies and talk about old times, she can clank around all she wants.
There’s a special place in my smooshy, soapy heart for the fictional friendship between Felicia Gallant and Cass Winthrop (Stephen Schnetzer). I couldn’t get enough of them. Linda and Stephen are real-life friends, so he was her first guest.
Imagine my joy watching this video of Linda picking him up at the train station… on Metro-North (my train!), no less. Their hug! ❤️❤️❤️ (Go click. I’ll wait.)
They were just as delightful as I’d hoped. Cass and Felicia, best pals forever!
I also checked out her episode with Anna Holbrook, who played Sharlene (and her split personality, Sharly). More mic-hitting, more sound issues, who cares?
I’ve never met Linda, but fielded calls from Stephen during my internship in the Another World writers’ office—“Hi Laurie, it’s Steve again.” Squee!—and met Anna when they took the interns on a set visit. She was pregnant at the time, beautiful, and warm in a very genuine, non-actressy way. I’ll always be a fan.
I am aware that this is a lot of newsletter content about a show that ended in 1999 and can’t be watched anywhere except YouTube. But hey, you’re still here…
Getting emotional with the SyFy Sistas
I finally listened to the SyFy Sistas interview with Celia Rose Gooding, who I now admire even MORE (if that’s possible) because of “Subspace Rhapsody.”
No one else does interviews like the SyFySistas. They have a way of both honoring their guest and keeping them in the center of it all, but making the conversation uniquely personal as well as professional. And their discussion about grief resonated deeply for me. These women have an unmatched talent for interviews, and I will always want to know what they have to say about everything.
Okay, let’s bring this thing home with All Access Star Trek
Tony and I did an extremely enjoyable interview this week with Chris Fisher, the producing director of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Hearing Chris talk about the creative, collaborative process and how much he loves being there has softened me towards the show. Can’t wait to have him back.
And yes, I’m still loving the musical episode. Not gonna stop. Still singing, still dancing.
I also found a whole bunch of Another World episodes from 1992 on YouTube and now I’m hooked on those too. Send help.