Starting Five

1. R.I.P., Edith

Jean Stapleton, the actress who portrayed Edith Bunker on “All In The Family”, dies at age 90. The CBS sitcom is arguably, if not the greatest of all time, the most revolutionary. After an era of escapist sitcom fare (“Gilligan’s Island”, “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Bewitched”) that happened to coincide with an extremely turbulent era — one being acknowledged weekly on “Mad Men” — Norman Lear (today they’d refer to him as a “showrunner”) created a half-hour show that dealt with all of the major issues without ever being preachy. Archie Bunker was America’s first bigot on TV, and a polarizing character was he. And as much as you might disagree with Archie on the issues, he had a soft spot for his golden-hearted wife, Edith. Even if he occasionally referred to her as “Dingbat.” Somewhere in heaven, Edith is running to the fridge to get Archie a beer.

2. Sometimes, the Storm Chases Back

Remember that scene in “Jaws” when Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider) informs Captain Quint (Robert Shaw), “You’re going to need a bigger boat?” Well, tornadoes are far more dangerous than great white sharks.

Three veteran “Storm Chasers” perished in the funnel of last Friday’s El Reno tornado in Oklahoma. One body was discovered in their mangle vehicle while the other two were each found a quarter-mile away — in different directions. Mother Nature, she’s the boss. Tim Samaras, 55, was a 30-year veteran of tornado pursuit. He, his son Paul, 24, and Carl Young, 45, were all killed. Ten other people died in Friday’s tornado. On the same day, another group of storm chasers eluded the tornado — barely — but this video provides a clue as to what REAL fear looks like (at the 1:38 mark: “Forty’s not enough!” Hey, dude, nobody likes a backseat driver).

Samaras’ last tweet included a photo of the sky he was seeing and the words — his final words– “Stay weather savvy.” How’s that for irony?

Honestly, I don’t feel sorry for these three men, and I don’t mean that in a cruel way. Much like Steve Irwin, the late Crocodile Hunter, they chose extraordinary (the literal meaning of the term: not ordinary) lives and died pursuing their passion. Samaras recently told an interviewer that after he first saw “The Wizard of Oz” as a boy, he vowed that he’d see a tornado in person one day (I had a similar reaction after seeing Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”). There’s no prize for living the longest; only for living the bestest.

3. Game of Thrones: “One Wedding and Four Funerals.”

After Tyrion Lannister’s marriage to Sansa, I thought that I’d seen the nadir in Westeros weddings. Obviously, I was wrong. After all, the very next week Seth Meyers broke up Stefon’s marriage to Anderson Cooper. Okay, okay, last night’s GoT was both brutal and fearless (dear David Chase: THAT is how you knock out a family). Also, it was a little disturbing just a few days after writing about the murder of Sharon Tate to watch a soldier repeatedly plunge a knife into the pregnant belly of Talisa. And then it is on. And poor Arya. That girl is going to spend years in therapy. Winter is coming.

1. Lord Walder Frey: “Sara and Saura, granddaughters. Twins. You could have had either…You could have had both, for all I care.” Schwing! Was that Lord Walder Frey’s female progeny or the line to use the ladies’ room at an Indigo Girls concert?

2. “I have no interest in slaves. A man cannot make love to property.” Perhaps not, but I would definitely buy this home a drink.

3. Lord Walder Frey: “A sword needs a sheath, and a wedding needs a bedding.” That’s better than 101% of the best man toasts I’ve ever heard (including the ones I’ve given).

4. Lord Walder Frey (he got all the best lines last night): “I’ll find another.” LWF, the Hugh Hefner of Westeros.

4. Benson, Ginsberg & Olson: That’s the Ad Firm I Want To See

“Mad Men” kept almost all of the action at or near the office last night, which is the way I like it. I’ll have more tomorrow — odds are 2:1 that Robert Evans attended that party in “the Hills” — but by far my favorite scene was Bob Benson’s life-coaching speech to Ginsberg. “The Odd Couple” film was released in 1968, but at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Cutler Gleason and Chaough (they’re right, that is a mouthful), these two are Oscar and Felix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benson: “What I see is fear. Not fear of failure. Fear of opportunity… Damnit, man! Manischevitz are good people! They’re your people. Now pull yourself together and be the man that I admire.”

Ginsberg: “Tell me the truth. Are you a homo?”

Benson: “There’s that sense of humor.”

(UPDATE: The NBA has just fined Ginsberg $75,000)

 

5. Flori-Duh: Only One Weapon Was Fully Cocked

The headline says it all. What more do you need?