Weird. Just weird.
This reminds me of that weird bestseller from a couple years ago, How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read. What's the point of acting all hip and zeitgeisty if you don't actually experience the pleasures of watching and reading stuff?

Summer's looking good.
Todd, the main thing I noticed that you didn't mention was just how much Lorraine Bracco underplayed the hell out of her few scenes. Watching her squirm and try to maintain her professional neutrality as she realizes what "waste management" means is one of the great pleasures of the pilot.

Joe's gone.
I, too, liked the unexplained absence of Joe Pope at the end. The ultimate fates of the other characters were a bit tidy for my taste, but the fact that Joe was just gone and unavailable without explanation rang true for me: that's what happens to most of our acquaintances in real life, after all.

Kick ice!
Well, to me, that mainly means that this franchise probably won't get its version of BATMAN AND ROBIN just yet. Huzzah. And good for Raimi, walking away instead of taking another unfinished script.

I dunno, I'm awfully fond of YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION and MAPS AND LEGENDS, especially the latter. (I tend to approach famous modern authors through their nonfiction first: Nick Hornby and Jonathan Lethem, for example. Hornby's essays on reading and music still kick the asses of his novels.)

Doorstops
Nice resolutions, all. Myself, I resolve to read a few of the phonebook-sized novels I've accumulated this last decade, mainly DAVID COPPERFIELD, BLEAK HOUSE, KAVALIER AND CLAY, and DON QUIXOTE. Oh, and LONESOME DOVE, too. Damn, I may end up reading all of one book a month.

All right!
Hey, that's great. Thanks, Keith. I'm only, like, a third of the way through it myself. Thought I was gonna miss out on the discussion.