Hacks

Watching eps 3 & 4 of season three. The 1987 to 1992 guest suite...seriously? I had a totally different answer for the Mario Cantone joke. I know Danny Collins is a character here, but is there any possibility that he might be the Danny Collins that Al Pacino played in a movie several years ago? The big fall I think that's coming for Deborah is coming in terms of pursuit of this talk show. That scene of Ava firing the new writers was hysterical. Well, I guess we don't have to wait much longer for the return of DJ. This roast is going to be comedic hell. I thought a roast meant that DJ would be making fun of Deborah? Deborah's going to be making fun of the people on the dias? "So you're the one who got my little girl clean, my insurance company owes you a fruit basket." Who was that actress playing DJ's therapist? Deborah can't even make a two minute speech at an NA meeting without having Ava write it for her? "I did set that boundary and now Luna can play the French horn," Deborah was wrong to jump into a routine at DJ's meeting, but not surprising I guess. I hate that Deborah doesn't know what she did was wrong, but DJ's bombshell sort of got her back. DJ's catchphrase is ridiculous. "I don't know anymore funny numbers." Is there a specific reason DJ hasn't mentioned who the father of her baby is? That scene between Deborah and DJ ay DJ's house was a riot. Who is that actor playing Jack Danby? "Deborah Vance is so old she still remembers when Roe and Wade were very good friends." Patton Oswalt was very funny. Hey DJ, 1966 called they want your dress back. I'm glad that DJ totally killed at the roast. Loved what DJ said To Deborah after the show and ;liked that it actually affected Deborah. Knew Deborah wasn't going to get Danny's show, but didn't think it would happen that soon. Can't believe Ava's demands and that Deborah actually agreed to them. Nice to see Mark Indelicato at the center of the opening of ep 4 since his part has been reduced to practically nothing to date. Cat Stoop? Seriously? Ava was really eating dog biscuits? A bisexual gumby named gumbi...that put me on the floor. Loved the scene with Steve Tobolowsky. Ruby ordered food knowing she wasn't going to be home? It's time to give Jimmy and Kayla separate lives. Can't wait to see who's playing the guys at the colonoscopy party. Loved the return of Helen Hunt. She looks like she's had some work done. Hate they brought back that Borat lady was Marcus' mother BFF? I hate her. Was that Joel Brooks as one of the colonoscopy guys? "Look who grew some foreskin, I like it!" Ava should know better than to have her phone visible at trivia night? OK, Ruby needs to get over herself. Dumped over the cell phone, is that worse that being dumped via post-it. Didn't realize Hunt's character decides who gets the late night show. I still think the bar trivia night would have been a much funnier use of screentime. OMG, those guys were playing UNO, I thought they were playing poker. That theory abut bisexuals was news to me. OK, did Deborah just say that Malcom X was bisexual? I hate that Deborah and Ava are falling apart again. I understand where Deborah is coming from regarding the talk show. Cute cameo from Mario Lopez, who's finally starting to look his age. Yeah, this talk show is definitely going to be Deborah's big fall, I just don't see it happening.

I really enjoy this show. This is my favorite current comedy now that "Curb Your Enthusiasm" has ended.

OK, watching eps 5 and 6 now. Loved Deborah unloading herself to be weighed for her physical. Why did Deborah want the blood work before the weigh in? Did she think she would weigh less with less blood? I've decided that the Home Shopping stuff bores me. Love the story of Marcus being offered another job, that could lead to some every entertaining stuff. They need to give Jimmy something legitimate to do, it feels like they don't know what to do with the character. Love Deborah's soda cup, it reminds me of one I saw Jennifer Lopez has that I saw in her documentary. "I'm sorry...I'll be funny now." If Deborah wants to protect her hands, why wear gloves without tips? "Hilarious that you think I don't have a vibrator." Glad to hear that Deborah has no interest in marrying an again. At this point in her life, she would be a terrible wife. She does need to get laid though. That whole nature walk thing wasn't nearly as interesting as the writers seemed to have thought it would be. A star like Deborah doesn't have her phone with her at all times? Seriously? This episode seems to be centering on Deborah's fear of aging. "I don't re-do! I refresh!" Good thing Ava never considered medical school. I didn't know male bees don't sting. Deborah and Ava's conversation about destroying the planet really wasn't that interesting. That shot of them reaching the top of the hill facing the mountains was breathtaking. Was she really rubbing two sticks together? Is that really a thing? "This is the first time I've missed my skin regiment since the Bush administration." "Anything I want to do, I have to do now." Smart's monologue right before they got rescued was lovely, made the rest of the show worth sitting through...ep 5 was definitely on the weaker side, hoping ep 6 will make up for it. OK, the little people playing elves...I see both sides of that issue. Undecided about Mark Indelicato's mustache. "Don't judge a book by her giant fake ****." "Christmas is my holiday...she can have 911." I like DJ's husband. Are we every going to meet the devil incarnate, and by that I mean Deborah's sister? "Philanthropy is just a fancy word for tax evasion." Christopher McDonald is back! Yay! Ava being Deborah's caddy? No good can come of that. Did Ava really need an apron that has the word "caddy" printed on it or is it a policy of the club for all caddies? Marty's marriage is over? I thought that was Tony Goldwyn playing Bob Lipka. Wow, I just had a Shooter McGavin flashback watching Marty on the golf course. That was s o funny watching Deb acting all girly and flirty with Bob. Christina Hendricks!! She hasn't aged a bit since Mad Men. Love hat Deborah is driving Marty insane. Hendricks a possible love interest for Ava? She got Ava totally hot when she told her to get on her knees...brilliantly played Einbinder. I didn't think we were going to learn this quickly that Deborah didn't get Late Night, but I guess this was Deborah's big fall I was seeing coming. Smart was so good in the scene where she told Ava, just heartbreaking. So are we supposed to believe that losing Late Night has made Deb a better golfer? Didn't understand a word Ava said to Marty at the bar. The night practice scene with Smart and Goldwyn was a sizzler. "I was really looking forward to pissing on a caddy." Hendricks and Einbinger's "love scene" was hilarious. Marty had two martinis who was the other one for? Who was he hoping would be there? There's a definite chemistry between Smart and Goldwyn. Goldwyn did a guest shot on Designing Women about a million years ago. Well, we finally met Deborah's sister and it sure looked like J Smith-Cameron from Succession. Ep 6 was a big improvement over 5, though up to this point this show has never totally disappointed and can we just give Jean Smart another Emmy already?

I think this show is a good example of an actress, Jean Smart, really having her moment. I've seen her in many other things over the years, and before "Hacks", she never made much of an impression on me. I think she's always been a decent and reliable actress, but I never really considered her to be a particularly talented one. For me, "Hacks" showed a side of Jean Smart that I hadn't seen before, and I think that is kind of a fascinating element of TV and movies. I think you need both the talent and the right roles, and some actors and actresses may actually have the talent, but they may not have chosen, or had the opportunities to portray, the right roles. She does such a great job in this part, and I think that it is a perfect match for her skills as an actress and her persona. Her comedic timing is also a revelation. In some ways, it's given her a chance to shine in a way that she hadn't had the opportunity to do before, and the fact that it's happened in her 70s is even more surprising and, to me, impressive.