Saturday, January 13, 2018

Other People's Writing

* Longtime OP'sW favourite Wesley Morris is back with a wonderful interview/profile of Jordan Peele, who is hopefully only a couple of weeks away from notching a couple of Oscar nominations.  I didn't think anything could top the 'football names' sketch in Peele's hierarchy, but Get Out managed to do it.  (I'm not even being snarky with that comment ---"football names" is one of the best sketches of all time.)

* The Ringer created a list of the best 100 Simpsons episodes of all time, and while it may not be THE definitive episode ranking, it's still pretty solid.  Honestly, it's hard to screw up a Simpsons top-100 unless it inexplicably features a lot of content from seasons 13-28.  I only had "Last Exit To Springfield" at #32 on my list, though I heartily acknowledge it as a worthy candidate for the top spot.

* I'm not sure if even the Simpsons could've come up with something as bonkers as a dog eating a heart meant for transplant, yet The Ringer's Andrew Gruttadero is here with the oral history of how the "One Tree Hill" writers came up with this unreal plot twist.  This piece has everything --- Joel McHale quotes, "Chad Michael Murray declined to comment for this article," the real-life Crazy Joe Davola, complaints about ice cubes, "I mean, there would be absolutely no way that a cat or a dog or any other animal would ever be found inside a hospital," and the reaction GIFs!  Oh, the reaction GIFs!

* This one scene notwithstanding, it's a shame that drek like One Tree Hill lasts on the air for years while gems like The Weird Al Show get barely a season.  Rolling Stone's Caseen Gaines talks to Al and others to get the oral history of a show that young Mark absolutely loved.  (Who am I kidding, modern Mark would absolutely love watching this again.)

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