#215 Inventing Crossing The Streams (Bonus Ep54) – Great TV binge watching suggestions!

CTS Announcer 0:01

Looking for your next TV show or movie to binge? Well buckle up, grab the remote and settle into your couch for this special edition of crossing the streams. We're here to help you tune in and get the most out of those 50 monthly streaming channels you're currently paying for. So without any further ado, here's your host of crossing the streams. Jeff Dwoskin

Jeff Dwoskin 0:30

Hi, Jeff Dwoskin, your host of classic conversations and your guide through this special bonus episode of crossing the streams. What is crossing the streams glad Jas. This is where we answer the universal question. Hey, I just finished binge watching something and now I got to watch something else. What should that be? Well, you've come to the right place. We've got your back. We have over 105 hours of TV binge watching suggestions streaming for you on our YouTube channel. For your unlock these bonus episodes. We cherry picked segments from a few of the Live episodes and we send them right to your ears. We know you're already here enjoying conversations that are classic. And now you can get some awesome TV recommendations as well as me and a bunch of my pals just sitting around talking about shows we think you might like today we're diving into Episode 64 With archive 8165 inventing Anna and live episode 69 life and Beth lots of great stuff for you. We're gonna kick things off for you right now from Live episode 65 inventing Anna, I'm taking us through this one. So take it away me. This next show I'm going to discuss it's called inventing Anna Anna and Lindsey Anna and I just was being dramatic Jon's inspired by the true story of a total fake. So so this think this may have been an algorithm thing for me. I mean, I kind of me it's the hottest thing going so maybe showing up in the top 10 is how the algorithm finds me but inventing Anna is a nine episode series on Netflix. It is basically the hermit hermit carbonate permanent it is basically become a part of pop culture. It's already been pared down. So live it's everything. So it's a Shonda Rhimes Nine episode series based on a true story, they cleverly open up permeated that was they cleverly open up every episode and say this what you're about to watch is completely true, except for the stuff we made up. Right. So the framework of the story is true, but it's meant to be told in a very entertaining Shonda Rhimes Shondaland manner. Now, just to give you an idea, if I was I was watching this show, and I said to my wife, if this was just a made up Shonda Rhimes series, I would have bailed after one episode, the only thing that kept me riveted and waiting for each new episode was the fact that I knew that this was mostly true and based on a true story. So this is, it's got a really good cast. It's got Juliet Garner is an Adele V, who plays a Russian con artist pretending to be a German heiress and she dupes all of the New York social scene and party scene and basically takes bankers and all these people, very popular people for hundreds of 1000s of dollars, like insane amounts, claiming she's a German heiress with a trust fund of $16 million. Now, I'm not giving it away that she's a con artist because it doesn't like go it starts in the beginning when she's in jail. And the entire series is based on a article from the New York Magazine by Jessica Pressler called how and Adele V trick New York's party people so if you go read that article, if you've read the article, most of that is pulled right into the series. A lot of it is what we find is a character named Vivian Kent who was played by Anna Chlumsky who you know, was from my girl with me i know but i is she's best known for killing Macaulay Culkin and my girl now I think the be Kelton but anyway but the point is she's riveting. She is amazing in this series as Vivian cat who finds out about this Anna Sorokin is a real name in this show, but she'll go had gone by Anna LV as a con artist. She's going to kind of find the story so she starts to interview and and this is the story of how episode by episode she's kind of digging deeper and it goes Each episode kind of goes a little bit into one of the relationships that Anna has with Casey do, who's her like trainer who's played brilliantly by Orion Cox. And then Rachel Williams is played by Katie lows. Rachel Williams is sort of crafted as like the, I don't wanna say villain, but they kind of use her to deflect, you know, to kind of question why. And his motives were, what they were or, you know, there's a whole kind of thread that goes on is, which is Anna claims never to have really asked for the money or stolen the money. They wanted to give it to her. Like, that's how good she was. Yeah, like, she painted such a picture that people were just kind of giving her money. So this Rachel Williams ended up exposing her with an article and wrote a book and after being stung by Anna dalvey And so that's that's a whole thread Rachel Williams the real Rachel Williams in real life, kind of called this series a dangerous distortion. Interestingly enough, Netflix paid Anna Sorkin, real Anna Sirocco $300,000 for this story. So imagine like grifting Wow, yeah, I mean, she was in Rikers guy. She was like in jail. I mean, it was just like, it's just an interesting thing. I read that it's illegal to pay someone for their story, at least in New York, but I don't know. Anyway. So there's Iran mo Yod. I don't know if I pronounce his name right is Todd he plays the lawyer. He was in succession. And to let you know how good in succession he was like this hotshot, you know, the money going in and out. It took me a while to realize it was the same guy because that's a compliment. Because his acting was so different in this show. Even like, after I made the connection, I'm like, I can't believe it's the same guy. I mean, it's just it was just really good how he could kind of play two completely separate characters. And then Alexis Floyd is Neff, who is the friend to the end. Like even I think even to this day, she thinks and Salvy is still a okay in her book, but it's just interesting. So the idea is it takes you through and Chlumsky is character Vivian cat diving in and trying to figure out who this person is, it was able to pull off all of these things. There's a couple of themes throughout all the nine episodes, which is that women are treated much differently than men. And then men tend to fail up. And when women fail, they are kind of knocked down many, many pegs. The one thread that they do with that is with Anna Chlumsky, his character where she had done something and her male counterpart had kind of screwed her over, her career got ruined, but he ends up getting promoted and now she's he's her boss and and then the other thing with Anna del v is when you know, she was found corrupt, you know, she ends up in Rikers. And then they were showing all these examples of men who had done things like that the lawyer who had actually given her the money or got her all of this access, lied on the form ends up you know, three promotions later. He's like, he's like three promotions up and she's like, in Rikers, right. You know, it was an interesting theme you don't disagree with but it was interesting to see it kind of played out. But anyway, I found this show riveting. I couldn't wait for the next episode. annadelle Vigilia gardener's accent probably heard parodied at this point. There's men is it?

Bob Phillips 8:32

Is it bad? Is it a badly done accent? Or is it No,

Jeff Dwoskin 8:35

I think it's brilliant. It's I can't I can't You can't wait to hear her talk more and more.

Bob Phillips 8:39

So she's a Russian. Pretending to be German. Speaking English. Yeah.

Ron Lippitt 8:44

I don't know Jeff. I mean, I granted to be fair, I'm only one episode in, but I find her accent completely laughable. And, you know, and part of the vibe of the show about how fake she is that her accent matches how fake she is. Like, is it as bad

Jeff Dwoskin 9:02

as Lady Gaga was in House of Gucci? Lord? I started watching I was a Gucci I liked her accent. You're not special, Ron? Yeah,

Ron Lippitt 9:12

it's it sounds. I'm assuming the accent was by design as kind of like a parallel of how fake she is in life. And her accent was

Jeff Dwoskin 9:25

supposedly kind of how she talks so I mean, like, even hers Yeah, the real one is Ron, are you pregnant? Are you so bad? I fat quotes from the movie.

Ron Lippitt 9:38

What are you wearing? Why would you wear something like

Jeff Dwoskin 9:42

that? The interesting thing about the Anna Davi character is her ability to pivot out of situations and kind of shame people and kind of get people thinking about something else. He was a master. I imagine in real life too. sense of the things that she pulled off I just diversion.

Ron Lippitt 10:03

I mean, the actor and her name. I'm blanking on her name, but Anna dalvey is she's just so wonderful. Gillian Garner Thank you. She's so wonderful and Ozark and I think she I think that was her breakout. Everybody knows her in Ozark. And now to see her I will say this to see her in this outlandish Commission. It is it does measure how far her range is. And for that I give her a lot of credit.

Jeff Dwoskin 10:29

I think she's great. I definitely recommend it's a lot of great acting. It's great storytelling, and I think you'll enjoy it. I think you'll enjoy it. I did see it in all fairness. I'm one of those articles that said these are two long shows it could be shorter, which I know is one of the things here but I didn't feel that way. I enjoyed it.

Ron Lippitt 10:49

It's no worst roommate ever, but it's pretty good.

Jeff Dwoskin 10:55

All right, inventing Anna, watch it just to see Julia Garner who is amazing and Ozark and spectacular in inventing Anna as well. Ron wasn't as old as I was, but I was all in. Alright, well. Let's go to our next show, which is life and Beth Howard Rosner is going to take us through this Amy Schumer show and it kind of turns into an Amy Schumer love fest. All right, take it away Rhys. So we think it is time that time for the return of Ross.

Howard Rosner 11:28

So life at bat does Amy Schumer's do show on Hulu. It's 10 episodes. Amy Schumer takes a lot of crap. I happen to think she's very good. Very good, either very funny. And I love the stuff that she's created more than anything. Train wack to me is one of the funniest movies of the past decade. No. This in this has moments of Trainwreck funny, but it's a much more emotional show than that. So the gist of the show is is very autobiographical for Amy Schumer. They're just the the show is she's closing in on 40. She has a job she doesn't love her boyfriend is just a mess. She hates that relationships she comes to discover and it all kind of coincides with her mother passing. A lot of the show is shot in flashbacks to her childhood. And so kind of as the show goes along. She kind of breaks up with the boyfriend. She moves into her mother's old house on Long Island away from the city and she starts to kind of find what she's missing sort of in life or what she thinks she's missing. Michael Cera plays a guy that she becomes involved with who is very clearly in the show on the spectrum. I didn't realize it until my wife pointed it out but her Amy Schumer's husband is very awkward socially, and he's definitely been diagnosed with Asperger's and so the character is very much based on him her character and a lot of stuff is is very based on her life so it's definitely got some hints of drama and melodrama but then the hints of funny are they're not laugh out loud, funny like train wreck, but they're really sarcastic funny, there's a couple of laugh out loud moments. She of course includes some of her favorite co comics. David towel plays the rabbi that does her mother's funeral Chris de Stefano Yamaneika Saunders was one of our best friends. She's great. Derek Goleman plays a character named FOMO.

Bob Phillips 13:29

Yet Howard, is he a main character or see science now?

Howard Rosner 13:34

None of the other comes the only the only other comic that's really a main character is yarmulke Saunders clothes her best friend. She's really good. And then, you know, there's some other ones. Rachel Feinstein plays her best friend from elementary school and middle school that she's been kind of estranged from. It's really good that kind of, it's a really interesting show. There are some really funny parts and I really enjoyed it because it wasn't laugh out loud, funny, it was a little bit more a little bit deeper than just slapstick comedy. And then what's really cool is kind of in the at the end of the final episode, they kind of wrap things up, they talk about her having played volleyball, which I guess she didn't realize and she's playing in kind of an over 40 lead at the end of it and then they flash and without you even it's not even a flash she's just like it all of a sudden switches and like Michael saris character is actually her husband. It's like, you know, not acting. It's actually people from around her life all playing volleyball together. So I really enjoyed it. It's a quick, easy watch. 10 half hour episodes. Yeah, it's good because it's, you could tell that doing a show was pretty emotional for her. There are some scenes where she's really, you know, it's acting obviously, but it's really hits home for her. You know, Michael Rapaport plays their long their father who's kind of been out of the picture for the last time, a long time and I love Michael Rapaport and anything he's really good Okay, so yeah, I recommend it. It's, it's a good reasonably funny but decent, interesting show. It's different from a lot of the other stuff. She's interesting.

Tony Berardo 15:10

Oh, yeah, throw up Jerry's last comment. That's hysterical. What did he say?

Bob Phillips 15:15

What did Jerry Chica never know?

Howard Rosner 15:20

Is it in the DC universe? It's life. And at first that Jerry, there's actual hints of comedy and fun. So it's definitely not in the DC universe independent. I sell wine.

Jeff Dwoskin 15:37

I seen the first half of the first episode. I didn't. I enjoy I enjoyed it. distracted, it's not like I stopped I just something came up and I did stop. And then I jump in. Then I had to jump into trust, knowing the hunt for the crypto, and then ended up feeling like just thoughts about Batman. And

Howard Rosner 16:00

the last time I was on I think I did a review of the project. What's your name show on Yeah, I know HBO in unknown on apogee, not Bridgette. The character I think I said at the time that to be one of my favorite most heartwarming TV characters in a long time was a character named Fred Rococo and that show and the character the the actor plays Fred Makoko plays a key character in the first few episodes of this show her boss, and she just so funny. It's such a good character.

Tony Berardo 16:31

All right, yeah, we will. Yeah, we wanted to say it. So I'm glad you're glad to see that. I love those those dramas. These are those dark comedies like I'm into that so we'll we'll check it out.

Bob Phillips 16:42

I am an unabashed Amy Schumer fan. It's fashionable these days to bash on or Look, she's funny. Okay, she wrote one of the best screenplays of the last 10 years train wreck is a fucking funny movie. One of the funniest it's funnier than any Judd Apatow comedy that he's put out. It really is. And, and it's got Dave Attell in it. So and somehow she's managed to be worth $50 million. Okay, listen, yeah, if you don't do that by accident, a lot of people are jumping on the we hate Amy Schumer bandwagon now. She's a funny girl, man. That's the truth.

Howard Rosner 17:18

I agree. Sure. I was just gonna say nobody's seen the cooking show she did with her husband is a trained chefs. They're in the kitchen cooking together and she knows nothing. It's really, that's a really funny show, too. Okay, I think probably Food Network maybe. But maybe Netflix. What's really good, sorry. All right.

Jeff Dwoskin 17:40

All right. That was Howard Rosner, and life and Beth and Bob Phillips just gushing over Amy Schumer. All right. We got one more for you. It says from Live episode 64. It is archive 81. It was Scott Curtis's dramatic return to crossing the streams. Scott you love in his podcast behind the bets. Take it away, Scott. All right, let's get to the next very important show for crossing the streams the return of Scott Curtis archive 81. Scott, take it away.

Scott Curtis 18:17

So a little bit of a backstory of since I've been moving. We haven't been watching a whole lot of TV. However, my wife went out to DC to babysit the grandkids this week. And I got bronchitis and strep throat and couldn't do a whole lot. So I decided to binge watch the show and archive ad one was the show I decided on because it had kind of a horror theme to it. I'm a horror guy. It's on Netflix. And I can't tell you the names of any of the actors. Because I don't I only recognize one I don't know why his name was but the whole. The whole premise of it is there's this guy that is an archivist for a museum. And he cleans up old film. And he makes it so you can watch it, digitize it and stuff like that. So this mysterious guy comes to him and offers him $100,000 to digitize some videotapes that were damaged in a fire. And not only that, but he had to be sequestered in this research area to do it because the tapes couldn't be moved, which that didn't make much sense to me. So he starts doing this and it's basically the story of a girl in 1994, who is documenting a apartment building that was built on a former mansion and it goes in it's a real slow burn type thing. It's only eight episodes, but the first couple episodes are real slow burn. So basically as he's going through these tapes, he's starting to get sucked down and he's starting to experience like dreams of being there. And then it goes back Back and forth, the young lady who's doing the documentary, it goes into her life and some of her backstory, but it's really not so Okay, so there's a comment that comes comes through. And that starts this cult in the 20s. And they are able to raise a demon. And that demon actually grabs people and takes them into his dimension, because there's another dimension that the comment opened up. Are you following this?

Jeff Dwoskin 20:32

I need to standard comment dimension opening story.

Scott Curtis 20:37

But the the, it goes back to okay, this a lot of shit happened to the people in this hotel. And they're either really weird or they're die, they die. And the hotel was built on this mansion from the 20s that is owned by this vos family that were really into the call and bringing up demons and stuff like that. And they found the perfect vessel, which is basically somebody they sacrifice in order to bring the demon up. And wow, it's really wild. Okay, I'm coming back. It's, it's just totally not what goes on. Because there's a lot of twists and turns. I don't want to I don't want to give any spoilers. But here's the main points, you got a guy that's decoding tapes, and you got the tapes, and you got the story behind, and you got a demon. So you put all those together and things happen.

Jeff Dwoskin 21:38

Sounds like dinner it sells.

Scott Curtis 21:45

I watched it in three nights. It was it really was good. I really enjoyed it. Like I said, I didn't recognize many of the people on it. It hasn't gotten a whole lot of buzz, I don't think but it was like a new release had come out within the last couple of weeks. And I think it's really cool. If you like horror and you like, it's definitely not like splatter horror, and it's basically the slow burn more psychological thriller type.

Ron Lippitt 22:11

So Scott, Scott, this is a movie, right?

Scott Curtis 22:14

It's a limited series.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:19

eight episodes on Netflix. It's called archive 81. Because based on a podcast by that name, yeah, there

Scott Curtis 22:24

you go. Yeah, the podcast came out in 2016. I forgot about that part. And it was a fiction Serial podcast, and it's based off of that. Very cool. Yeah. Awesome. All right. Yeah. It was really neat. I really enjoyed it.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:40

I've right, well, that's way way to come. skorts. And back to the show.

Scott Curtis 22:46

By the way, on the last show, I was talking about the Americans and I was only halfway through it. I did finish it. It had a great ending and I loved it.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:53

Awesome.

Bob Phillips 22:54

All right. Another timely show. Yeah,

Jeff Dwoskin 22:57

yeah. Right. Yeah. You know what else is timely? Scott Curtis, ladies and gentlemen from behind the bits. All right, that was archive 81. So you gotta lie. You got that one. You got life and Beth and eventing Anna, you've got a lot on your plate. So I'm gonna let you go. Go hop on the couch, grab your cozy spot, grab the remote, cross your own streams, and I'll see you next time.

CTS Announcer 23:27

Thanks for listening to this special edition of crossing the streams. Visit us on YouTube for full episodes and catch us live every Wednesday at 9:30pm Eastern time. Now turn this off and go watch some TV. And don't forget to tell your family y'all be busy for a while.

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