Phil Robertson "Fired"

[Drtooth]

How does his show differ from any other reality show? They are all fake to a degree. From Survivor to Pawn Stars to you name it, they are all highly edited to make them more controversial. Producers intervene all the time to encourage conflict.

I didn't say it was any different, just sighting that their whole bearded hillbilly stereotype look is one of those things they manipulate for reality programming. D'Snowth may be right that it isn't completely an act, but it really seems the producers signed onto this show as a "make fun of the hillbillies" program.

I agree with MadTV. "A&E: No longer artistic or entertaining."

 

[jvcarroll]

I personally find reality show watchers to be rubes because the programs are largely artificial, cheap to produce and provide nothing except to bring out the worst parts of human nature. We should demand more from networks. A lot more.

Better things to watch besides Duck Dynasty and other such "reality" shows include:

• Orphan Black
• Doctor Who
• Almost Human
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Person of Interest
• The Tomorrow People
• Hannibal
• Orange is the New Black
• House of Cards
• Misfits
• Broadchurch

 

[D'Snowth]

In all honesty, I haven't even heard of half of the shows you mentioned.

 

[jvcarroll]

In all honesty, I haven't even heard of half of the shows you mentioned.

You really have to hunt and peck for good quality shows these days. They're all surprisingly good.

• Orphan Black (BBC AMERICA)
• Doctor Who (BBC AMERICA)
• Almost Human (FOX)
• Downton Abbey (PBS)
• Game of Thrones (HBO)
• Person of Interest (CBS)
• The Tomorrow People (CW)
• Hannibal (NBC)
• Orange is the New Black (NETFLIX)
• House of Cards (NETFLIX)
• Misfits (HULU)
• Broadchurch (BBC AMERICA)

They all have trailers on YouTube.

 

[dwayne1115]

Don't forget Call of the Wildman on Animal Planet!

 

[CensoredAlso]

Then there's the case of Michael Richards. While there's no defending that at all, it came from a place of anger and passive aggressiveness. He was being heckeled, and he responded in the worst blow up ever. Now, while there legitimately was a group of people who were offended, most people thought this was the funniest thing ever. And when he tried to give a heartfelt apology, it was even funnier.

The whole Michael Richards thing, to me it's the perfect example of just because you're a comedic actor doesn't mean you know how to do stand up comedy. A few years ago, I went to see a different comedic actor attempt a stand up routine (won't mention his name) and he made a lot of jokes that were incredibly awkward jabs at different nationalities. It was pretty embarrassing but I don't believe for a minute the guy was racist. I just think he had zero ability to write his own stand up material (or handle hecklers) and was floundering miserably. Sort of like how George Lucas isn't racist, but actually though Jar Jar was funny.

 

[D'Snowth]

Another thing about Michael Richards is that he seems to be something of a perfectionist; if you look at behind-the-scenes footage from SEINFELD, such as bloopers and outtakes, he seems to hold back chatising others whenever they blow a line or two... then again, I think Richard Dawson was kind of the same way on HOGAN'S HEROES, when the others start breaking up or losing it whenever something doesn't go right, he just stands there with an annoyed look on his face.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Another thing about Michael Richards is that he seems to be something of a perfectionist; if you look at behind-the-scenes footage from SEINFELD, such as bloopers and outtakes, he seems to hold back chatising others whenever they blow a line or two... then again, I think Richard Dawson was kind of the same way on HOGAN'S HEROES, when the others start breaking up or losing it whenever something doesn't go right, he just stands there with an annoyed look on his face.

And yeah such an attitude does not always go over well with hecklers at a comedy club. You can't let them know they're actually bothering you. Or if you do, you have to make it amusing.

 

[D'Snowth]

Yeah. I actually saw Jerry Seinfeld in 2009, and sure enough, at one point, he was interrupted by hecklers, but being a pro at stand-up, he knew exactly how to handle it: he completely ignored the hecklers. What he couldn't ignore, however, was that security guards came in, and started repremending the hecklers at their seats, rather than taking them outside; even the audience started razzing the guards, telling them to take it outside, which they finally did (I even heard one of the hecklers as they walked past my row, saying, "I don't get why everybody actin' like they watching a comedy show." The guards took the hecklers to the door, but still didn't take them outside, which was still disrupting the show, once again causing the audience to yell at the guards to take them outside, which they finally did. Once that happened, Jerry was like, "Are they gone yet?", which got a big laugh, even the guy sitting in front of me shouted out, "Hang in there, Jerry!"

 

[CensoredAlso]

Yeah. I actually saw Jerry Seinfeld in 2009, and sure enough, at one point, he was interrupted by hecklers, but being a pro at stand-up, he knew exactly how to handle it: he completely ignored the hecklers. What he couldn't ignore, however, was that security guards came in, and started repremending the hecklers at their seats, rather than taking them outside; even the audience started razzing the guards, telling them to take it outside, which they finally did (I even heard one of the hecklers as they walked past my row, saying, "I don't get why everybody actin' like they watching a comedy show." The guards took the hecklers to the door, but still didn't take them outside, which was still disrupting the show, once again causing the audience to yell at the guards to take them outside, which they finally did. Once that happened, Jerry was like, "Are they gone yet?", which got a big laugh, even the guy sitting in front of me shouted out, "Hang in there, Jerry!"

Exactly, perfect example! Seinfeld knows his craft. I get the impression Richardson was in over his head and panicked. I doubt he was actually racist and it's a shame his career was ruined. Again, I don't have a stake in this, I wasn't a big Seinfeld watcher. I just dislike the witch hunt attitude of accusing people before trying to understand what happened. That mentality does not make racism go away. In fact all it does is drive further wedges between people.