Pop Culture

Michael K. Williams was always the most compelling person on the screen

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

The best thing I can think of to say about Michael K. Williams is that he made you take notice.

The actor was found dead on Labor Day (Sept. 6) in his Brooklyn apartment. Though a cause of death wasn’t announced, Williams died from an apparent drug overdose judging from heroin found nearby and no foul play in evidence.

If he was on an HBO series, it had to be taken seriously. And Williams could be called Mr. HBO. Of course, he broke out on The Wire. Omar LIttle was Batman, Paul Kersey, and Robin Hood, striking fear in the hearts of criminals with lethal fury. But he also had a tender side which was revealed in his personal life, making him sympathetic and resonant.

“A-Hunting We Will Go” would never just be a kids’ folk song again.

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On second thought: Rethinking a couple of my ‘Ted Lasso’ recap answers

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Since Season 2 of Ted Lasso began, we’ve been doing roundtable-style recaps at Awful Announcing. It’s been fun to get different voices in there, rather than one view, and the recaps provide a nice break from covering sports media. We’ve also done a good job of not repeating the same thought a few times — which was my biggest concern going in.

I don’t usually feel like I want to change some of my answers. And it wouldn’t be fair to do so after the article publishes. But for our “Rainbow” (Episode 5) recap, there were a couple questions that made me want to give two answers so I’m going to post them here.

Favorite scene or quote?

Original answer: Dani – “Jennifer Lopez!”

Ted – “That’s a great call, Dani. And not at all a beat too late.”

On second thought: The scene with Ted and Isaac meeting Roy late at night down a dark alley. Ted texts Roy and his phone lights up, revealing that Roy was nearby waiting. It scares the shit out of Ted and Isaac. I’m still laughing at that one.

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Hey, that Peacemaker guy looks familiar… !

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

I can’t remember much useful from school (which inspired me to try and put together a high school reading list while in quarantine), but something that reminds me of comic books I read as a kid gets my brain working.

On Wednesday, HBO Max announced the development of a limited series built around the Peacemaker character that John Cena will play in James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad film.

But the key art released with the news trigged memories of an image that’s apparently stuck in my brain over the past 30 years. The headshot of Cena’s Peacemaker, drawn like a comic book illustration, looked a lot like John Byrne’s rendition of Captain America for the signature corner boxes that Marvel Comics put on its covers from the 1960s through the 1990s.

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Late to the Desus & Mero party, but plan on staying

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

At the risk of sounding way behind cultural trends or looking white as mayonnaise, I’ve become a fan of Desus & Mero.

I was aware of them before and NBA writer Chris Herring often shows them love on Twitter.

So what took me so long? I don’t know! Maybe because I don’t watch VICELAND that much, but now that they’ve moved to Showtime, I see ads for the show all the time before and after watching Billions.

(By the way, I’ve finished my binge! Just waiting for the second half of Season 5 whenever COVID-19 allows the series to go back into production.)

Part of it is the guys often talk about sports and have sports-related guests on the show, which makes it content worth watching for a notable clip I can write about for Awful Announcing. Like this clip on James Harden and the Blue Lives Matter mask he wore at the 8:14 mark:

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