May 8, 2008
AMC burns my toast
Posted by Deborah Lipp under AMC, Season 1 Episodes | Tags: The Wheel, Clearasil, deleted scenes, Encore presentation |I sat down to watch The Wheel again last night. Figured it would be extra fun after reading the script and all. The ones I have saved on my DVR are from the second straight-through run of the season.
Let’s remember this: They showed season one at 10 and “encore presentations” at 11. Then they showed a few episodes (I think it was 1, 2, 5, 6, 10–13). Then they showed the full season straight through again.
Roberta and I discovered they were cutting the encore presentations. Cutting! The very first day the episode was run. CUTTING.
Last night I discovered that the second run of season 1 was cut further. Further! I want to smoosh their little AMC faces with pie, I really do. The episode felt noticeably truncated. Over too quick. Brief. Fleeting. Choppy. Smoosh their faces, I tell you!
Here’s what I mean, using one scene as an example. Seriously, don’t read this if you have a weak stomach.
Original run: Pete gets roped into a reproduction discussion with his father-in-law. Father-in-law indicates that a bun in the oven would get Pete the Clearasil account. That night in bed, Pete pressures Trudy into unprotected sex (the infamous “deleted scene“).
Encore presentation: Pete gets roped into a reproduction discussion with his father-in-law. Father-in-law indicates that a bun in the oven would get Pete the Clearasil account.
Second run of the season: Pete gets roped into a reproduction discussion with his father-in-law.
Period. That’s it.
Fuck.
May 8, 2008 at 2:53 pm
We didn’t burn toast already?
May 8, 2008 at 3:59 pm
“Mr. Stillerman, Mr. Weiner is calling on Line 2 … shall I put him right into voicemail again?”
May 8, 2008 at 5:40 pm
All to make room for two more commercials.
May 8, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I’ve been lucky in having my experince with the show being downloaded and complete episodes.
I was talking to my best friend, who happens to be of the male persuasion, and telling him that the series was jumping ahead in time. I think I broke his heart. He loves women in old-fashioned stockings and is in no hurry for the legwear to change.
May 8, 2008 at 6:18 pm
And I realize I just moved from the point — see what happens when you post from work? Bad!
I know it must be crazy-making to see AMC continually undervaluing this show. It’s frustrating to me, and I’m just getting the news secondhand.
I plan on lending out my DVDs to any interested party, showing I have seemingly more interest in advertising and promoting this show than they do.
May 8, 2008 at 7:02 pm
We didn’t burn toast already?
We squeezed toothpaste, damaged calm, harshed happy, perched nerves, and had stinky paws, but we did not burn toast.
May 9, 2008 at 8:28 am
I really don’t understand the way AMC is handling the show. They took a huge risk with their first series, hit a critical home run and now they seem to be sabotaging their chances of reaching a wider public. Lots of people are curious about the show but the schedule doesn’t fit in with their viewing habits. Maybe AMC is planning a marathon closer to the beginning of the new season.
I’m intrigued by the concept of a show skipping ahead several years but I too am kinda bummed about moving from the era, although for different reasons than Glass’ gentleman friend. I’m going to miss the men in hats.
May 9, 2008 at 8:56 am
I don’t love the hats all that much; they look out of place by 1960; you want 1955 for a beautiful hat era. But I do love the de riguer suits, and I dread Jon Hamm in sideburns.
May 9, 2008 at 9:30 am
In my research I came across an interesting item in the advertising section of the NYT from the second week of January 1961 about hat-wearing habits. It was an article about an ad of a guy who wasn’t wearing a hat. The point of the ad was to show that only beatniks and slobs went hatless. The dude looks totally normal by current standards but I guess he was horrifyingly sloppy even in the early 60s (the ad agency had a difficult time finding a hatless dude, even in the Village). I thought it was such a neat little item but I just couldn’t fit it into the thing I was working on.
From what I understand, JFK set a non-hat wearing trend when he became the first president to attend an inauguration without a hat. It’s funny how fast these trends disappear, no? In the span of two weeks, hats became a thing of the past.
But the larger point is that I’m going to miss the snappy outfits.
May 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I didn’t watch the show until the second run I guess because all I saw was the shortened scene where the FIL wants Pete to make a baby with Trudy.
Now that I read there was originally more to this scene, I wonder if we are supposed to assume that since Pete got the Clearasil account, there actually is a bun in the oven? Or does he get the account just for making the effort?
May 11, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Wisefish, it would be too soon to tell. In 1960, you had to be at least 8 weeks pregnant to know for sure; but the effort was apparently enough.
June 10, 2008 at 10:01 am
[...] what’s going on. We got contacted by someone from AMC (who did not suck in the least, despite all we’ve said about them) regarding some Season Two photos we posted. In our analysis of the photos, we drew some [...]