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Shiny floors take a lot of work.
Presumably its a union job, and I one day hope to secure such a position for myself.
Calling these shows shiny-floor highlights their artificiality, calling it out as an asset.
But talk shows not only need to be shiny, they need to be real.
We want to see genuine moments of connection between hot, famous people.
To make a lumpy and unnecessary comparison, television is a boardwalk.
But a talk show is creepy and animatronic.
Best-case scenario, it looks like Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers talking about the Thai soccer team rescue.
Amy and Seth know each other very well.
And theyre both trained improvisers who can do a performative conversation.
Amy seems genuinely enchanted with the story, and Seth seems genuinely delighted by her enthusiasm.
They can reminisce about how hyped she got on the Chilean miners, and segue seamlessly intoHoratio Sanzs citizenship.
I highlighted your parts so you would know where you appear, Posey tells Fallon.
I know youre not going to read the book.
Posey is pulling back the skin to show the creepyWestworldrobot underneath.
Fallon counters by launching into a story about Sanz requesting someone bring him spiced ham on the dance floor.
Incidentally, Spiced Ham on the Dance Floor is an underratedArctic Monkeyssong and we shouldnt forget that.
In pro wrestling terms, it is a worked shoot, a scripted piece designed to look extemporaneous.
BothJimmy Kimmel LiveandFull Frontalexposed the genre conventions of other styles of show.
Kimmel did aHoardersparody/mini-sode, where Kimmel writer Gary Greenberg has his office of tchotchkes cleaned out.
Gary seems totally unprepared for what happens.
But how could Gary have missed the writers meeting when they decided to do this?
Is this a true surprise?
As always, great cinema asks the deeper questions.
Have you heard about thedenaturalization task force?
I Googled it because Gessen mentioned it in a car!
Why hadnt I heard of it on the news?
Then Jason Alexander sang songs from the public domain.
Bees deconstruction of TV artifice was the most brutal of the week.
