TV

Watched ‘em, read ‘em: April 2025

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

If this is your first time seeing one of these posts on the blog, they’re inspired by Steven Soderbergh’s annual “Seen/Read” list.

Every January, Soderbergh posts his chronicle of all the media he consumed during the previous year. I don’t expect my choices of movies, TV shows and books to be nearly as compelling for a year-long list. So I’m doing it month by month, which is more engaging to write and easier to track.

April was a really good month for TV. The Pitt and Daredevil: Born Again were both nearing the end of their seasons, while Andor and The Last of Us were beginning their second turns. Your Friends & Neighbors was also intriguing, but I might not have been interested if not for Jonathan Tropper running the show. He’ll always get my attention because of Banshee and Warrior.

Then there’s Andor, which isn’t reinventing TV but may be reinventing Star Wars. Tony Gilroy is telling adult stories that may take place in another galaxy, but aren’t space fantasy. No Jedi, no Force. And maybe the best definition of “rebellion” that ever could have been created in this universe.

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BSM Column: HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ an equal opportunity offender

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

For this week’s Barrett Sports Media column, I wrote about HBO’s Los Angeles Lakers series, Winning Time, and the controversy it’s generated for how several real-life figures are portrayed.

I’m really enjoying the series for depicting the early-1980s era of the NBA and the insight it provides into the sport. But the show is also ruthless in making virtually everyone in the story look bad. The portrayal of legendary player, coach, and executive Jerry West has been particularly surprising, and he’s spoken out publicly against it.

Hall of Famer Magic Johnson doesn’t come off looking good, either.

“The series makes a point of demonstrating that dropping a 20-year-old basketball sensation and savior of a franchise into a den of temptation would inevitably lead to trouble. The story begins by showing us the eventual results of Johnson’s promiscuous ways. But the way Johnson treats the many women in his life and those who can help him make money and become a celebrity is hardly flattering.“

You can read the entire column here.

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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‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ bringing back an animated Batman, which we must always have

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Benjamin Franklin said only two things in life were certain: Death and taxes. I think he could’ve added that there will always be a Batman cartoon on the air, though Franklin died 149 years before The Dark Knight debuted in Detective Comics No. 27.

My contention that there’s always a Batman cartoon on the air doesn’t quite hold up either. The last one was Beware the Batman, a computer-animated series which Cartoon Network pulled off its schedule in 2013. (The series, including seven episodes that were burned off on Adult Swim’s Toonami, can now be seen on HBO Max. I’m catching up on that someday.)

But with a new Batman movie set to be released in 2022, WarnerMedia is launching a new animated series as well. And this one has some star power behind it. According to DC, Batman: Caped Crusader has been ordered for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, going straight to series. No pilot episode and series order necessary.

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New York Mets broadcast team celebrates 10 years together in the SNY booth

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Note: This article was originally published at Awful Announcing in April 2015.

The 2015 New York Mets season will represent the 10th year together for SNY’s (SportsNet New York) broadcast trio of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez. It’s an impressive run, one not typically seen on regional team broadcasts. The success is even more notable, considering how rare three-man booths are on sports television these days.

But the SNY team makes it look easy, with a smooth chemistry and refreshing candor that’s made it extremely popular among Mets fans and considered by many to be the best broadcast booth in MLB. So what has been the key to the trio’s success? How has it worked so well over the past nine years?

“I think the thing that works best for us — and it really is rare in television, especially when you have two players who had great careers — is that we have a very low-ego booth,” said Cohen, who had called Mets games on radio for 17 years before moving to TV.

“What I mean by that is, nobody needs to be the star. You hear it sometimes in other broadcasts, where there’s almost a competition for the microphone, and that’s never the case on our broadcast, even when we have three in the booth.”

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