Netflix Scores w/Olympic Doc "The Redeem Team"

Telling it like it is: this blogger has very little interest in the NBA. 

Curiosity in this area is consistently so low, I was oblivious to the 2008 Olympic basketball competition and its professional players for its entire two-year lead up to Beijing, the Games that inspired launch of this site.

Not once in China -- nor during three Olympiads and two years since -- has the five-ringed hoops competition of Beijing crossed my mind until this weekend while reading the Oct. 6 New York Times review of the new documentary "The Redeem Team" now streaming on Netflix. 

Screening the film -- combined with recent enjoyment of HBO's excellent drama-comedy series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" -- might have finally sparked more curiosity about the NBA and its reach within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). I definitely have a lot to learn.

Like the next person,1992's Dream Team did pique my interest, as did the '96 version, though most Atlanta team members came to my attention only through attending the unveiling of an oil painting by Bart Forbes held in a Buckhead gallery (now a Men's Wearhouse) a few weeks before the Games. 

Since that event, I've paid money only once or twice to see star players, specifically a "retiring" Michael Jordan in the late '90s, and a couple of stars from the OKC Thunder in town just after Rio 2016. And though it was personally thrilling to work with the Atlanta Hawks through PR client Philips Arena from 1999 to 2002, and exciting to stand courtside during LA's Olympic bid press events at Staples Center in 2017, professional hoops just haven't captivated me. 

Around town in Atlanta, it's fun to spot Charles Barkley dining at Nan, pass the Dominique Wilkins sculpture downtown, or read about Magic Johnson's or Shaquille O'Neal's business interests in town. Lots of Midtown residents remain eager for Shaq to fulfill his promise to rebuild the popular Ponce Krispy Kreme he owns, which was gutted by fire 18 months ago. 

Each of these NBA touch points were dusted off as "The Redeem Team" got rolling with its streaming recap of Team USA's historic dominance of Olympic basketball shut down at Athens 2004, where an unprepared assemblage of U.S. players lost a playoff round to the ultimate gold medalists from Argentina. 

Viewers learn of "Coach K" Mike Krzyzewski's recruitment to rebuild Team USA starting in 2006, as well as the public perceptions and private personas of most of the stars who signed on for the Road to Beijing, with first-time Olympian Kobe Bryant joining returning Athens 2004 Bronze Medalists LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Boozer on the quest. 

Things sort of plod along during two years of prep, but filmmaker Jon Weinbach's team does a masterful job translating tensions of the court for viewers of the doc. Consider this writer now eager to view this director's treatment of previous Olympic matters via "The Nagano Tapes" or "The Other Dream Team" populating Weinbach's IMDB profile. 

I enjoyed the last 20-30 minutes of "The Redeem Team" for the crescendo of drama it delivers. Bryant's on-court action and pre- and post-Games interview footage really drew me in and helped me "get it" how much he evolved as a player and person before his tragic death. 

Munich '72 Olympian Doug Collins' visit to the team -- to share his vantage as a would-be-gold medalist robbed by history -- juxtaposed with Coach K inviting wounded or blinded soldiers as another teambuilding action, poignantly hammered home one of the bottom lines for the 2008 U.S. squad: You had better not f*ck this up, not so much because gold is on the line, but because untold millions of patriotic fans are drawing inspiration from the team factor above any individual glory for its players. 

One of the journalists tapped for commentary eventually states of "The Redeem Team" players that, "... they're the biggest, greatest team arguably in the history of the Olympics." For some viewers this may ring true. 

For all of this film's strengths, it did not establish for this viewer enough inspiration to earn GOAT status. Not even close. 

This is no scrappy "Miracle" team of Lake Placid nor Soviet gold medal basketball team of 1972 (for better or worse, "the greatest" hoop dreamers for some Olympic fans on the other side of the world). I won't be alone in thinking of other top teams that rallied at the Games -- off the top of my head, how about the "Magnificent Seven" gymnasts, the 1996 and 2000 women's soccer teams and/or the undefeated-since-1996 U.S. women's basketball teams?

The NBA-infused 2008 team's only "Goliath" was overcoming self and pride for the sake of the team, which they did admirably. Watching this team get their act together is a fun ride. 

Image credits: Coach K in Beijing via UPI; '96 team painting by Bart Forbes, Redeem Team photo w/Statue of Liberty via USA Basketball, "The Redeem Team" promo still via Netflix and IMDB. 

From Trading to Swap Our Places

Earlier this month experiencing the Atlanta debut of "Trading Places: The Musical" inspired a post. 

Almost every day since, mass media reports provided regular reminders of another tune with a people swapping theme, thanks to Netflix, as Kate Bush enjoys new love for "Running Up That Hill." 

For anyone recently under a rock, the new season of "Stranger Things" includes an apparently crucial scene set to Bush's 1985 lyrics on a repeating loop of the running part. The catchier part of the song, for this blogger, is ...  

"And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get Him to swap our places."

My limited experience with "Stranger Things" and its otherworldly elements made me think a different, lesser known Bush song might be more apt ("Hello Earth" with its murder of calm, anyone?).  

But it's satisfying to see "Running Up That Hill" ascending the Billboard charts (as high as No. 4 as of this post). Go, Kate!

It took no Google search to know when this tune enjoyed one of its earlier renaissances. For those at London Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Closing Ceremony, few have forgotten the evening's premiere of an updated version timed to debut on the world's stage. 

Sadly, the reclusive performer was not there in person (trust me, many were looking for her -- in the YouTube video below featuring this segment of the ceremony, you might spot me on the lookout from my upgraded seat near the cauldron). The next day she said the occasion was brilliant! (It would have been more so with a surprise live appearance.)

More recently, Bush granted a rare interview about the "Stranger Things" phenomenon with a BBC reporter, according to Rolling Stone. 

Growing up in Oklahoma during Bush's 1980s heyday, her works seldom got air time on pop stations, so personal fluency with her works only started in my college years (1991-1995). I do recall strong emotions when "This Woman's Work" perfectly complemented the hospital climax of "She's Having A Baby" (which the "Stranger Things" fan set might enjoy for different dose of nostalgia). 

My first and only purchase from her catalog is "Hounds of Love" which was part of this writer's 1999 soundtrack for the first year of agency work at The Headline Group -- must have played that CD a thousand or more times, now back in rotation during urban drives, thanks to recent coverage. 

One hopes the current resurgence would inspire some additional live performances like the 2014 residency in London. I'd get on a plane for such sensations. 

Photo via EMI

Orange Is The New Black Olympic Ring

The patient wait is coming to an end.

At long last, season three of "Orange Is The New Black" arrives Friday. And I gots to learn what happens next.

On this "OitNB Eve," during lunch I took some time to review the final episode of season two just to get reacquainted with the cast members who are at once familiar but have not been top of mind in 11 months.

Though not surprising (given the blitzkrieg of entertainment news stories that appeared on newsstands and online this time last year), "Orange Is The New Black" preview reports are sparse compared to 2014's buildup to season two.

Not even the Netflix series' Emmy winner Uzo Aduba (a.k.a. "Crazy Eyes") got much press in recent weeks (her NPR interview last year is a great intro to this amazing actress).

According to this February 2014 interview during the Sochi Winter Games, Aduba practiced Olympic-style figure skating for more than 10 years (a skill she showed off sans stunt double in the show's first season).

NPR did tease season three with a Weekend Edition segment.

Last season's dark comedy will be tough to surpass. I found Piper's airplane monologue to be moving in a creepy-cool way; the tearful confession was performed by Taylor Schilling, born on July 27, 1984, the eve of the Los Angeles Olympics. She went there there and it was awesome!

I'm glad to see Piper's seatmate Lolly (Lori Petty) returning for the new season -- she's got the anger issues thing down. It will be fun to see what the recently promoted "Beer Can" warden and "Pennsatucky" (Taryn Manning) bring to prison. And who knows where Suzanne (Aduba) will go from the dramatic lows of season two's conclusion?

I would bet money that "Pornstache" has at least one cameo this season; if not, "That's a shot!"

And if the devotional candle-infused promotional materials provide a sign of things to come, viewers may get to know some of the Hispanic characters con más detalle.

Netflix announced Season Four will be produced for a 2016 debut, just in time for the summer of the Rio Olympics.

Until then, I look forward to the cell block tales of season three.

Images via Netflix

Post-binge-watch update (June 14, 2015): Turns out this season of OitNB unveiled an additional Olympic connection. As viewers learn in his back story, (spoiler alert) Caputo competed as a state-ranked high school wrestler. Later, during portrayal of his first day on the job at Litchfield, Caputo is drawn in to an Olympic wrestling match as the TV room is showing a binge-watch session of the Games. The Olympics are everywhere, even at Litchfield.

Binge Watching for Olympic Connections

Binge watching shows on Netflix can be fun.

For this viewer, the trend in blocking out a weekend to devour a TV program by the season began on a holiday featuring back to back episodes of "24" a few years ago.

Every "Curb Your Enthusiasm" DVD soon followed, and, of course, "House of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black" became favorites (did anyone else notice both series' most recent season closers involved the same white van?).

My latest binge arrived via the early May debut of "Grace and Frankie," the new series starring former Atlanta resident Jane Fonda with her "9 to 5" co-star Lily Tomlin.

Readers of this blog may recall my conversation with Tomlin on stage at Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts (a client) in 2008; looking back on that chat, I can't help wonder whether that gleam in Tomlin's eye was an early version of "Grace and Frankie" starting to take shape from Fonda's appearance at the same event.

"Grace and Frankie" is good stuff. Finished it in a couple of days, intentionally spreading the cheer over two lunch breaks and evenings at home.

It delighted me to learn season two was quickly approved for production (hooray!).

For the uninitiated, "Grace and Frankie" (Fonda and Tomlin) are the wives of two successful business partners (lawyers played by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) who, in the series' opening scene, announce the fruits of their labor also inspired their closeted, decades-long gay love affair.

Determined to approach retirement without secrets, Sheen and Waterston reveal their intention to divorce their wives and marry each other.

Their formerly even-keeled lives set adrift, Grace and Frankie -- a Los Angeles socialite and a free-spirited art instructor, respectively -- reluctantly form a partnership as roommates in the Malibu beach house their soon-to-be-ex husbands purchased as an investment property.

Their adult children (including a recovering drug addict and an adopted son) and many others, such as former convicts in Frankie's post-prison art classes, work to console the women and help them build new lives.

At its core, "Grace and Frankie" is a show about grief and its many stages. Here are two couples, four adults and their families who've suddenly lost their identities, each forced -- for better or worse -- to forge ahead.

I like the bone dry humor, and though laughter is the best medicine, I wouldn't call "Grace and Frankie" a 'happy' comedy; it's not a drama, but many of the topics are a step closer to dramatic than, say, episodes of "The Golden Girls" that dealt with 'serious' issues of people in their sixties or seventies.

Tomlin's hippie character steals the show almost every segment, but Fonda's uptight freak-outs crack me up, too. As the retired founder of a cosmetics company now run by her daughter, some of Fonda's best lines arrive in conversations about how to run the business now versus back in the day.

The ladies' experiments with social media and online dating are a riot -- confused by a (fictional) app that seemed to blend the best of Facebook pokes and Tinder swipes, Grace corrects Frankie that in search of a date she has emphatically "NOT been punching or fingering anyone" via her mobile device.

Frankie's special blend for personal lubricant also earned many belly laughs in later episodes -- for anyone who recalls "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" think of the lube as the 21st century answer to "grot."

Also enjoyable is the brainy chemistry shared by Waterston and Sheen. The latter seems to borrow from his folksy Southern lawyer character spotted dancing at the kitchen sink in "Catch Me If You Can." Perhaps their best shared scenes take place at their public 'coming out' event, which happens to be at the funeral for another longtime law firm partner.

I found Waterston enjoyed an Olympic-tied project as the actor narrated the NBC Olympic featurette "The Great Race" detailing a Winter Games rivalry. Regrettably, I missed the air date and binge-watching of the Torino 2006 Olympics as work took me to Italy for most of that event.

While describing "Grace and Frankie" to friends, I've cautioned the first two episodes can be heavy; the jokes and story seem to gain steam in episode three, and by episode five -- which sets up an interesting sort of flashback scenario -- the laughs are frequent and very funny. There are some very subtle, perhaps accidental, references to "9 to 5" scenes, and it won't surprise me one bit if Dolly Parton and/or Dabney Coleman show up in cameos during season two (we can hope they will).

Bottom line: "Grace and Frankie" is a binge-worthy series worth a look.

Images via Netflix and/or the 'Grace and Frankie' page on Facebook

Dealing Cards

Over the years I lost count the number of times Netflix almost lost my business with fee changes, delivery issues and the like.

But the video service recently redeemed itself with the twisted characters and addictive story line on the original series "House of Cards," which blends some long-time favorite performers (Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright) and interesting newcomers (Kate Mara, Kristen Connolly) with excellent and biting scripts. Just when you think it's going down a familiar political thriller path, BAM!

Welcome to the D.C. political/journalism sleaze Olympics! (the U.K. version is now in queue, too).

"House of Cards" deals out the "R" rated (and upgraded) answer to "The West Wing" with a dose of "All The President's Men." When will they please shoot a scene at the Newseum?

The series features great writing, and they've got their work cut out for them to develop season two's follow up to the current (and outstanding) season one cliff hanger.

Since I don't want to spoil the fun for those still catching up on "House of Cards," let's just say one of the most memorable (and shocking for TV) scenes takes place mid-season with a Happy Father's Day sequence that inspired my contribution to the "House of Cards" shared images (see above). I'm curious where this illustration card will go -- a Nick original.

Kevin Spacey/House of Cards image via Netflix at this link; other image is a collage I created from House of Cards promotional images.