R.I.P. Carl Weathers

I've watched some good movies and tv shows over the weekend, but starting out the week on my blog, I have to write about the passing of Carl Weathers.

This one hurt as a fan. I have seen and enjoyed a bunch of Weathers' work. I loved "Rocky" and "Rocky 2". I was such a fan. I had never seen a movie up to that point where the hero didn't necessarily win in the end. Rocky learned a lesson. And the person who taught him that lesson was Apollo Creed, portrayed by Weathers. Apollo Creed was my introduction to Carl Weathers the actor. I was instantly hooked.

After seeing the "Rocky" movies that Weathers appeared in, I searched for his other stuff. I love the original "Predator". I didn't appreciate it when I watched it as a teen, but I love it now. He was in the James Brown video "Living in America" playing Apollo Creed. They used this in "Rocky 4", where his character gets punched to death. That was tragic. I have not yet seen "Action Jackson", but that is going to change soon. I now have to see this movie. He was in "The Comebacks", which is an awful movie, but I enjoyed his role. And recently I saw him in "The Mandalorian", where he has a major role. I wonder how they will show his character now?

But where Carl Weathers really came into my consciousness, where I really became a lifelong fan, was "Happy Gilmore". I love this movie with all of my heart. It is one of my all time favorites. I am an avid Adam Sandler fan. I'm unapologetic about my fandom for him. So when he released "Happy Gilmore", of course I watched it on opening day, and a bunch more times since then. And what has always made me come back to it, why I never get tired of it is Weathers' performance as Chubbs. He is my absolute favorite character in that movie. I have never gotten tired of watching him in this movie. I have never grown tired of the movie in general, but Weathers performance as Chubbs is the absolute cherry on top. My only other times watching Weathers was in action or serious roles, usually both combined. Even in "The Mandalorian" he is pretty serious. But in "Happy Gilmore" he is hilarious. He plays the straight man opposite Sandler and he absolutely nails it. He also has a wooden hand due to an alligator biting his hand off. When he reveals this it is one of the funniest moments in movie history for me. He puts his wooden hand up and says, "damn alligator bit my hand off!". Sandler recoils, but Weathers never breaks. He continues to tell Sandler his character's back story. From that moment on in the movie he had me hooked. When he coaches other golfers, his demeanor is so bored and uninspired. It is great. When he takes him to the mini golf course, I love that whole thing. When he grabs him from behind and starts swinging him back and forth and saying "it's all in the hips", that is gold in that movie. Everything Weathers does as Chubbs is perfect. I can watch it over and over again and find new things he does in "Happy Gilmore" that make me smile. This was where my fandom went up another notch. I love him in this movie.

Carl Weathers passing is a true bummer. He still had a bunch of work left to do, but now he is gone. Rest in Peace Carl Weathers. You will be missed. I hope to see you, the alligator and Abraham Lincoln smiling down at me at some point in my life. That would be a dream. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Best of 2020: Top Five Television Shows

TV was pretty solid this year.

It really was the highlight of 2020.

You do not believe me? Let’s discuss.

There was a lot of great television to choose from, and a good amount of it was okay. There was some early quarantine stuff that, when I look back on it now, was not as great as I thought it was at the time. Think "Tiger King" and "Love is Blind". Those shows were a nice distraction, but looking back, they were not great by any stretch of the imagination. They were more crummy reality TV shows that let me forget how crazy the world was, and still is. But, there was good stuff, just mostly already good shows that had really good seasons. That is how I viewed my choices this year. There is only one brand new show on my list, but that show is the best of the year. The rest are all shows that are already established. Let's get to the list.

At number five I have season two of "What We Do in the Shadows". The movie was amazing, and the show is pretty damn good. The first season was a nice homage to the movie. The second season really went out on its own. They explored each character. They gave us great one off episodes of two main characters. The episode that focused on Colin Robinson, the energy vampire, was one of the best episodes of TV in decades. They were able to follow that up with the "Jackie Daytona" episode, featuring an excellent cameo from Mark Hamill. "What We Do in the Shadows" got exponentially better in season two, and season one was great. The stuff with Guillermo, further looking into his vampire hunting past, ended with a tremendous conclusion. I loved this season, and I cannot wait to see where they go with the third.

At number four I have season two of "The Mandalorian". I am a newly minted "Star Wars" fan, but "Rogue One" and "The Mandalorian" are pretty exceptional. Season two of the show gave us Baby Yoda's real name. We got some kick ass fight scenes. Boba Fett reappeared. The episode with Ashoka Tano was epic. And anytime Giancarlo Esposito showed up on screen, I knew some wild stuff was about to happen. We got to see cool space monsters and other inhabitants of this world, and that is always fun for me. I read they had some on set drama, but none of that showed in the final product. And that surprise at the end of the season ranks right up there with some of the best TV season finales ever. "The Mandalorian" is a great show, with a solid cast and really cool story writing. It is an old west style show shot in outer space. I'm curious to see where they go with season three, but I bet it will be great.

At number three I have season 10 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Sure, it gets kind of annoying waiting on a new season of "Curb", but when you come up with the comedy that Larry David does, all that goes away. This most recent season rules. All the stuff with Susie and Jeff is great, and it went to a new level of greatness this season. The episode with the painting was hilarious. The wedding episode with Timothy Olyphant was cringey in the best possible way. The stuff with Cheryl and Larry was tremendously funny. Ted Danson was sparsely on, but when he was he was great. But the spite coffee store was the creme de la creme. Larry deciding to do this, with Leon's help, is what makes this show so funny and so incredible. The writing, and improvising, is second to none. Larry David proved why he is one of the greatest people ever to do what he does. He has entered the pantheon of people that really can do no wrong. I know they are making an 11th season as we speak, and I am sure they will find a way to make COVID funny. David might be the only person capable of accomplishing that.

At number two I have season four of "Fargo". "Fargo" is a great show, with great connecting storylines. Season 4 kind of connected all the previous seasons. This was the first one that didn't take place in the North, instead heading to Kansas City. But, there was mention of Fargo, and the show was as captivating as previous seasons, if not more so. Chris Rock was the head of one crime family, the new one, going up against Jason Schwartzmann's already established crew. How they weaved both families stories together was perfect, and the addition of outside characters was done so well. Nurse Mayflower was frightening. The high school student that lived in a mortuary clearly was running things near the end. The sister and her girlfriend, the robbers, were so good. Timothy Olyphant, his second appearance on my list, was charming as hell. The way Noah Hawley does this show, the way it is written and the people he gets to act are so good and so game for anything that is thrown at them. And as I said before, the way they tied previous seasons to this one was done so well. The very last scene of this season was too perfect. "Fargo" is one of the best shows on TV right now, and I hope FX continues to do more.

Speaking of FX, and how I previously mentioned I only had one new show on my list, coming in at number one is the FX show "Dave". I am a Lil Dicky fan. I like his music. I do not think he is a joke or parody rapper, I just think he writes funny lyrics, but is a genuinely good rapper. I did not know what to expect from his show, and boy did it knock me on my ass in the best possible way. The show is a comedy, but like most things on FX, it deals with some heavy shit. Dave is trying to make it, but it is hard for him. He tells his story on this show, and he gets other people involved. Gata, his buddy and hype man, is all wild and fun, but he is bipolar. The episode that reveals this is a very well told, raw story of bipolar disorder. Dave's old camp buddies come to see him perform live, and while they have him doing jokey things, we find out that his old friends are assholes that took advantage of him. Dave soon realizes this too. His friend and engineer wants to make it in the music business, but his anxiety and self doubt gets in the way. Dave treats his girlfriend like shit, and when she finally calls him out on it, and breaks up with him, I was heartbroken for them both. This show was able to perfectly toe the line of drama and comedy. They did such a good job. And the way it catches you totally off guard is how any good show should hit you. I was on the fence about this show, but damn am I glad I watched it, and have watched it multiple times since. I highly, highly recommend people check it out. It will surprise you.

That does it for TV. Come back tomorrow for my top five sports moments of 2020.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.