Buftex

I know you are not addressing me with this one...but IMO, MASH always maintained a high quality of story telling, so I would never say it was not worth watching...but at some point (sorry, it is too long ago for me to pin-point which season), as the cast changed, the show kind of transformed from being a top-notch comedy/drama with a liberal POV, to a drama/comedy with a liberal POV. I am liberal, so I don't have an issue with the politics of the show, but the comedy (or maybe more accuarately the "tone" of the comedy) on the show changed drastically. As time went on, it emphasised the drama over comedy. It was still a really good show (especially compared to other things on at the time), but different. The replacement characters (BJ Honeycutt, Charles Winchester, Sherman Potter) were all good, but they were much more nuanced than the characters they replaced, so the tone of the show changed. Not to say that none of them were great characters (I never cared much for Honeycutt, but Charles and Col Potter were great), just so dramatically different.

I know some of you who puruse this board are managers, or have been managers. I am in a little bit of a 'sticky wickett'...in a previous life, I was an office manager in an insurance office at a universlty. I left that job to take a job out in the "real world" for about a year and a half...that company folded, so I ended up back at the university, in a completely different, non-management job. This past December, a girl who used to work for me asked if she could use me for a job reference. I had always considered her a friend, and had no reservations giving her my blessing. She was trying to get a job back at the university. Fast forward three months, and I have come to find out that the girl has applied for a job in the very same area that I work now. She didn't tell me this, I just saw her name on a list of three folks being interviewed for an opening we have. My dilema: this girl is really smart, and can be great to work with..but I have also seen a much darker side to her, and the way she works with others. She is definitely somebody who works better on her own...she had frequent conflicts with co-workers in our past job (not always her fault, granted, but she also knows how to "push buttons")....I am really conflicted, because while I want to help her get a job, I really don't want to work with her at my job again. Does this make me a ****ty person? I am mindful too, if I give her a good reference, she gets hired, and has the same issues again, it makes me look bad. I have given out plenty of references over the years, without hesitation...but I have my reservations about this one. I have no doubt that she could handle the work part of the job she is applying for, but knowing how my current place works, I think she would be a really bad match. This job relies heavily on working with others, and people aren't always super courteous, so you have to have a thick skin...not sure if she fills that part of it. I have a feeling they will be asking me for a reference in the next day or two...what would you do? How frank would you be? The university trains their managers well, in getting negative info, if it exists, without crossing any lines. Sorry for the long post...brevity is never my strength...

Yes, the pacing of the series, has been rough since the first season ended....haven't they gone through numerous staff writing changes as well?

For such a great comedy, it sure makes me melancholy sometimes....but I do love that show. For me, #1 all-time is the "Larry Sanders Show".

I feel dumb...but it was only in the last 10 years or so (and I am 48) that I realized the double entendre of the title of this show...the talking flute kind of creeped me out as a kid.

I wasn't expecting that ending...at least not the way it played out. My 9th grade football coach put me (and the other 4 or 5 scrubs on the roster) in to the last game of our undefeated season...after hearing "holding #77" on back to back plays, I didn't blame him when he yanked me back out.

As an old fart, I take exception to your foolhardy youthfulness!

Kurt Warner rolls his eyes...

Now that is cool... I always think it is cool to hear tales of the legends from people who knew them from dealing with them in a sort of non-showbiz angle...you get a lot more insight into the person. The Sinatra story you told a while back was great...was she really sick before she passed? I seem to remember she died from heart issues. Did you get to interact with her much? And, I am sorry, I wasn't meaning to diminish Lucille Ball...I realize, she is considered one of the great female comics of all time, and "I Love Lucy" one of the real groundbreaking shows of its' day...just using that as an example of how subjective comedy is, and trying to pick one of the "old fart" shows that I never really appreciated. There aren't many of them...but hey, at gun-point, I would prefer "I Love Lucy" over about half the shows on the list..my overall point was, it is pretty silly (though fun) to try to come up with the "best 50 comedies of all-time" when what is "funny" is so arguable. Letterman did a whole hour (actually, minus schtick and commercials, probably closer to 20 minutes) with Van Dyke not too long ago...I was amazed at how sharp he was...seems like he could still be doing comedy today in some forum. Seems like a tremedously nice guy too...

#31 Yeah...I would agree, but, obviously, this thing is not geared specifically toward an older demo...so it includes newer shows, which, I suspect, anybody over, say, 35, wouldn't even consider...and vice versa..."Dick Van Dyke" is an all-time great show, but one step removed from yesteryear. And, of course, it all pretty sujective...I always hated "I Love Lucy"...never thought it was funny, even when I was a kid, and i thought pretty much everything was funny. But, just to show I am an equal opportunity hater, I think "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is pretty awful too...

I think all of my essentials are on here, so I can't quible too much...unless we were talking about where they are ranked. Might be a few a would omit (mostly cuz I haven't seen them) while including others (WKRP, Strangers With Candy)...but all in all not bad. "Mary Tyler Moore" would rank much higher... not only was it hilarious (and pioneering in "adult" comedy) they knew when to pull the plug, and didn't let it go on too long (see "MASH"...early years are some of the funniest stuff ever...later years merely tolerable, cuz it was, afterall, "MASH").

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the "I hate bicyclists" thread, or the Lance Armstrong confession thread, as it involves both bicyclists and !@#$s! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/bike-gets-stuck-in-boys-a_n_2774188.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=World

And, general football perception is that cornerback is almost as difficult a position to master in the NFL as Quarterback. Williams played more than all those guys, but his mistakes are magnified by the position he plays. If Williams is having a bad day, or has a bad mathcup, QBs' will (and did) go after him. It is not quite the same for a running back or wide receiver. If they don't see the ball as much, their weakness aren't exposed as much. Playing an offensive skill position and a defensive position are very different.

I simply meant, it may be a little too early to be writing off a second round draft pick after one disasterous season where absolutely nobody had a good year...it takes 11 guys..one struggles, it has a ripple effect. Aaron Williams may end up a bust, but Bills fans, in general, have become extra-pricky when it comes to evaluating draft picks...I get it, 12 years of miserable football will do that...but Aaron Williams wasn't here for most of that...these coaches weren't here for any of it...why can't we give the kid a chance?

buffalobillsgirl- you are too new here, I guess, to realize that we give our players approx half a season before we start lighting the torches..one season, and it is pitchforks...they are full on busts...never mind that pretty much every player on the Bills defense struggles miserably last year (more than normal)...it is all on Aaron Williams.

Sorry...Tampa is fine. The gameday experience is fun...and the stadium is top notch. I just meant, Tampa, in general is not a very exciting city...particularly in comparison to New Orleans. When I go on a road trip, I am normally there for at least 3-5 days, so for my tastes, Tampa is nice (and I have friends there) but it just doesn't have the vibe of New Orleans. I didn't mean to slight it...

If my math is correct, I have been to games 16 of the current NFL cities (including Buffalo) to see the Bills...New Orleans is probably my favorite...honestly, the stadium is nothing special (will confess I have not been there for a game post-Katrina, so it is likely nicer now), but the city is awesome....while I never got the sense of a great tailgating scene, hey, its' New Orleans...tailgate 24/7. I will take No Saints word for it, I just didn't no where to go, I suppose...but it didn't curb my fun one iota, any of the times I was there for a game. One year, my brother was in town (Austin)...it just so happened the Bills were on a bye week...on a whim, we drove to New Orleans (about an 8 or 9 hour drive), and scalped some tickets for a Chiefs/Saints game (I think it was 2004- Haslett was the Saints HC, Aaron Brooks QB, Joe Horn had a monster game...Saints won late after a mini-comeback!) Had a great time.... I was also there for the Christmas weekend game between the Bills & Saints, final week of the 1998 season, and a Bills classic in 1992. Had a ridiculously good time at all three games. Of course, I am not sure if I can (or want) to drink that much again....but I have nothing but fond memories....have been a couple of times for Jazzfest as well...tried like hell to get a transfer there through my old job...got me wanting to head back for a Bills game...if the schedule plays out right I just may do it...Tampa Bay is another possibility...great stadium but boring city...but I do know folks there!

They are all great, but the guy who plays Rothstein is awesome! When you get to the third season, he takes on more prominence. Not sure how to explain this, but there is a cool dynamic between the elder Rothstein and his proteges Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano. Rothstein always seems to have this sort of demonic look of glee on his face, even when he is !@#$ing people over. They never verbalize it, but it seems like the guy who plays Lansky kind of tries to imitate the demonic smile. Not sure what the real life dynamic was between the two, but I assume, both being Jewish, the younger Lansky kind of looked up to, or idolized Rothstein.... Great show...as much as I can't wait for new "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad", I am looking forward to season four of "Boadwalk Empire" every bit as much. btw- didn't mean to slight Capone...he is great too...hard to believe he is a limey!

You know, there was a time, not long ago, where I used to read every single article linked on the front page of The Stadium Wall, and then search for more...on a daily basis....365 days a year...but the last couple of years, I have lost that kind of interest. When something actually happens (ie: Bills sign Mario Williams) I will read...but I learn more from reading threads here, than I do from most of the people who write about the Bills on a national level. And, not as a slam on our team, our ownership, but most of these national people spend so little time paying attention to the Bills, they simply apply basic (very basic) common NFL sense to their coverage of the BIlls, when we all know (as I am sure fans in other markets feel) that kind of common sense thinking rarely applies to our franchise...so most of the reading is just a complete waste of time. As bad as ESPN is, I will say, if you root for one of the teams in the markets big enough to have an ESPN city link, you are in for a treat. I happen to be a Celtics fan...I love their Celtics coverage...it is constant, up to date, and the writers clearly know the team....but if I was say, a Cavs fan (or a Bills fan!), I am **** out of luck.

Experienced a father showing his "precious" daughter how to do her first ATM transaction last Friday...it took for freaking ever...and I was in a bit of a hurry...what was even more annoying, the father was talking very loud, so I would know that it was her first transaction, and presumably, think it was adorable...just annoying... talking her through every step...she was probably about 12 or 13, and I got the sense that the only one enjoying the whole thing was dad... I don't hate kids by any stretch, but I don't think everything the kid does is automatically precious.

The quiet one....happy birthday George. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_XiffXlDao

A false equivalancy....not everyone could catch 61 passes from Fitz, in one season. The guy has good hands. I agree, he isn't the player that Cruz is, but he isn't as worthless as some are making him seem.

I can almost guarantee, the three major networks will start adding Latin programing into their prime-time schedule. They have nothing to lose (they are bleeding viewers), and everything to gain....

It's the writing....it is really pretty pedestrian. I like the premise of the show enough, and some of the scenes are great...but, the writing is clunky. They have not figured out a way to add multiple themes into one scene...for instance, last week, Rick is relatively fine throughout the show, until the end when he flips out on the new "guests" in the prison... they just haven't figured out subtly, so it seems like everyone is over-acting, because they have one scene to hammer home a concept...which they may or may not come back to in a week or two...in some ways, for me, the show is like "Dexter". Great concept, and by no means awful, but it could be so much better. It's almost like they underestimate the audience ability to understand...and because they haven't really mastered subtlty, they have to have too much dialog, which sounds forced, and the perception is that we have bad actors.