This Week's Episode: The Associates, "The Censors"
Added 2024-06-11 05:42:15 +0000 UTCHey all. We are doing a deeper dig this week, and it's something that is harder to find online. It's "The Censors" from the James L. Brooks co-created series The Associates, and it's both the one gay episode this show did and also a showcase for a pre-SCTV Martin Short. Glen and I are discussing tomorrow, but if you've got any thoughts, post them here.
This series is one the failures on Brooks' filmography, even if critical reviews of this lawyer sitcom were very enthusiastic. In fact, ABC was widely criticized for not giving the show more of a shake. Is it a "brilliant but canceled" or is it deservedly lost to time? You tell us!
Comments
This was surprisingly good. I didn’t have high hopes after the first scene but everything after that won me over. I just finished reading Steven Capsuto’s “Alternate Channels” so I really appreciated the scene with the NGTF rep. The writing for that scene was meta, which doesn’t always work for me, but here it was very well done. It’s also cool that this episode was nominated for a writing Emmy.
Sandip Sarma
2024-06-11 18:23:13 +0000 UTCFirst time I have heard of The Associates, and it makes me want to watch more to get a fuller picture of what the show was all about. It is a thought provoking episode with a couple of excellent stings in the plot. Very well cast, especially the show within the show. I am not sure they explored every possible viewpoint, and I def did not agree with every stance ("words don't matter" -- really?) but they covered a lot of ground in 24 minutes. Also, I laughed several times. The episode's central theme of exploring the nature of comedy and its effect on people reminds me of the excellent British play Comedians by Trevor Griffiths, which I recommend reading or watching of one of its filmed performances. Thanks for sharing the episode here so we can watch it. I look forward to your discussion about it.
Steven Ripley
2024-06-11 16:36:24 +0000 UTC
