Just What is Apex Mountain: Rewatchables discussion thread

Ralphwiggum

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Simmons thinking Harvey Danger was a person was peak Simmons. But the American Pie pod was great anyway.

Chris Ryan is a national treasure.
 

TheGazelle

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Simmons thinking Harvey Danger was a person was peak Simmons. But the American Pie pod was great anyway.

Chris Ryan is a national treasure.
CR's Robert Loggia impression on the Officer and Gentlemen pod is another reason why this is true.
 

DJnVa

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CR's Robert Loggia impression on the Officer and Gentlemen pod is another reason why this is true.
I would have loved to hear what he did for Wayne Jenkins in American Pie.

"God dam Stiffler, that wasn't no motherfucking pale ale big boy!"


An Officer and a Gentleman in "Wait, that film made how much money?" seems like a weird fit.
 

Vandalman

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Come the wet-ass hour, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Wosny Lambre are everyone's daddy!! They rewatch the 1989 neo-noir thriller ‘Sea of Love,’ starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, and John Goodman.
 

Vandalman

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Everyone Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins have told about this podcast is dead. But that doesn’t stop them from rewatching the 1993 American legal thriller ‘The Pelican Brief,’ starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. The film is based on the 1992 novel by John Grisham and directed by Alan J. Pakula.
 

ifmanis5

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Rewatchables live cold weather tour week of Jan 29th. Chicago: The Fugitive. DC: Forrest Gump. Philly: Creed. NYC: Rounders. 4 days in 5 nights according to Bill.
Also promised to drop National Lampoon Xmas Vacation next Monday.
 

TheGazelle

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Rewatchables live cold weather tour week of Jan 29th. Chicago: The Fugitive. DC: Forrest Gump. Philly: Creed. NYC: Rounders. 4 days in 5 nights according to Bill.
Also promised to drop National Lampoon Xmas Vacation next Monday.
Not complaining, but those are all re-rewatchables. If I get CR putting Wayne Jenkins into the Fugitive and Rounders, then I'm 100% in.
 

B H Kim

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Everyone Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins have told about this podcast is dead. But that doesn’t stop them from rewatching the 1993 American legal thriller ‘The Pelican Brief,’ starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. The film is based on the 1992 novel by John Grisham and directed by Alan J. Pakula.
I listened to this episode just to see if they would point out the fundamental flaw with the film and book (something that has bugged me about it since I first read the book). They did not. The Julia Roberts character has no first-hand information. Once her theory of what was behind the murders become public, there’s no longer any reason to kill her. If she just made a few dozen copies of her “brief” and mailed them to every major news media organization in the country, she no longer matters (and, in fact, killing her at that point would only lend credence to her theory). I haven’t watched the film in years, but I don’t recall that they ever discuss the fact that most of her problems would disappear if she just circulated a bunch of copies of her brief.
 

Five Cent Head

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I listened to this episode just to see if they would point out the fundamental flaw with the film and book (something that has bugged me about it since I first read the book). They did not. The Julia Roberts character has no first-hand information. Once her theory of what was behind the murders become public, there’s no longer any reason to kill her. If she just made a few dozen copies of her “brief” and mailed them to every major news media organization in the country, she no longer matters (and, in fact, killing her at that point would only lend credence to her theory). I haven’t watched the film in years, but I don’t recall that they ever discuss the fact that most of her problems would disappear if she just circulated a bunch of copies of her brief.
I feel like the plot of any Grisham book/movie involves the main character, through cleverness, not just beating the bad guys but also getting a lot of money and settling on a tropic isle to live in luxury for the rest of their life. This in fact feels like an important part of the motivation for the main character, and so Julia Roberts' character wouldn't just give up that opportunity by distributing her brief. Not that this makes much more sense...
 

Vandalman

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The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Van Lathan have a good old-fashioned Christmas with the Griswolds as they rewatch ‘National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation,' starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and Randy Quaid.
 

Van Everyman

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Is @Vandalman a bot, Ringer social marketer or film podcast version of @soxhop411 ca. 2018?

I had to drive 10 hours to retrieve my mother in law for the holidays so binged the American Pie, The Devil’s Advocate, The Omen and Officer and a Gentleman episodes and am doing Eyes Wide Shut now. All super enjoyable but the highlight had to be CR’s Byron Mayo leitmotif.

How have they not done Love Actually? It’s having a moment with the Hulu retrospective and is the definition of a rewatchable.
 

Remagellan

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Is @Vandalman a bot, Ringer social marketer or film podcast version of @soxhop411 ca. 2018?

I had to drive 10 hours to retrieve my mother in law for the holidays so binged the American Pie, The Devil’s Advocate, The Omen and Officer and a Gentleman episodes and am doing Eyes Wide Shut now. All super enjoyable but the highlight had to be CR’s Byron Mayo leitmotif.

How have they not done Love Actually? It’s having a moment with the Hulu retrospective and is the definition of a rewatchable.
I'm going to guess it's because Bill thought the woman Hugh Grant wound up with was too chubby, the woman Alan Rickman was cheating on Emma Thompson with was too skinny, and the woman Colin Firth wound up could have been hotter.
 

Vandalman

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Is @Vandalman a bot, Ringer social marketer or film podcast version of @soxhop411 ca. 2018?

I had to drive 10 hours to retrieve my mother in law for the holidays so binged the American Pie, The Devil’s Advocate, The Omen and Officer and a Gentleman episodes and am doing Eyes Wide Shut now. All super enjoyable but the highlight had to be CR’s Byron Mayo leitmotif.

How have they not done Love Actually? It’s having a moment with the Hulu retrospective and is the definition of a rewatchable.
No. No. I don’t know who this is.
 

Vandalman

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The Ringer’s Bill Simmons hires Kyle Brandt, an ex-Navy SEAL turned podcaster, to rewatch the 1992 action thriller ‘Under Siege,’ starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey.
 

Vandalman

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The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, and Charles Holmes are better at rewatching movies than you will ever be at anything! They bring out their queen to rewatch the 1993 sports drama ‘Searching for Bobby Fischer,’ starring Joe Mantegna, Laurence Fishburne, Joan Allen, Max Pomeranc, and Ben Kingsley.
 

johnmd20

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Some of these choices have been head scratchers for me the last few months. Anyone else?
As someone who can barely listen to Bill Simmons' voice at this point, I will say that this podcast has gone from must listen to usually skip. I don't feel like I've lost anything.
 

The Filthy One

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Searching for Bobby Fischer is a banger. It's also a movie Simmons brings up a lot, so I'm not surprised to see it here. But I've also started to skip it with more regularity. I don't think it's the movie choices though, I think I'm just real real tired of the hosts.
 

johnmd20

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Searching for Bobby Fischer is a banger. It's also a movie Simmons brings up a lot, so I'm not surprised to see it here. But I've also started to skip it with more regularity. I don't think it's the movie choices though, I think I'm just real real tired of the hosts.
Yes. The movies are never the problem. It's just how washed, petty, and basic Simmons is. Simmons really really needs to sit every other Rewatchables out, or more. It would freshen things up a LOT. I am actively not listening to the podcast because of him. That's not the way to bring in downloads.
 

Hoya81

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It’s a good fit for the pod because it was one of those small films that came and went in theaters but found an audience on home video and cable. My dad and I saw it on a random rainy day and he raved about it to people for months.

It’s also a great period piece in the sense that it has a number of actors who ended up getting big almost immediately after appearing in it: Joan Allen, Laura Linney, William H. Macy, Tony Shalhoub. And absolute Murderer’s Row of That Guys: David Paymer, Dan Hedaya, Austin Pendleton, Anthony Heald.
 

luckiestman

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Yes. The movies are never the problem. It's just how washed, petty, and basic Simmons is. Simmons really really needs to sit every other Rewatchables out, or more. It would freshen things up a LOT. I am actively not listening to the podcast because of him. That's not the way to bring in downloads.
He and how the other hosts play off him make the show what it is.

The Bill antipathy has me a little worried about you. It’s way too strong. What is the therapy speak kids say these days?….I need to hit Bing to remind myself..ok, I’m back, not exactly this:
A para social relationship is a one-sided relationship in which a person develops a strong sense of connection, intimacy, or familiarity with someone they don’t know, most often celebrities or media personalities¹. These relationships exist only in the mind of the individual, who experiences a bond despite the lack of reciprocity.

Some people may have a weird negative relationship with celebrities they don't know because they feel jealous, resentful, or threatened by them. This can lead to feelings of anger, hatred, or contempt towards the celebrity, which may be expressed through online trolling, harassment, or even stalking. This type of parasocial relationship is unhealthy and can have negative consequences for both the person and the celebrity involved.

If you are interested in learning more about parasocial relationships, you can check out these articles:

- [What Is a Parasocial Relationship?](^2^)
- [What Are Parasocial Relationships—And Are They Healthy?](^3^)
- [parasocial relationship | Meaning & Origin](^4^)

I hope this helps.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/2/2024
(1) Parasocial Relationships | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/parasocial-relationships.
(2) What Is a Parasocial Relationship? - Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-parasocial-relationship-5210770.
(3) What Are Parasocial Relationships—And Are They Healthy?. https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/parasocial-relationships/.
(4) parasocial relationship | Meaning & Origin | Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/e/tech-science/parasocial-relationship/.
 

johnmd20

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He and how the other hosts play off him make the show what it is.

The Bill antipathy has me a little worried about you. It’s way too strong. What is the therapy speak kids say these days?….I need to hit Bing to remind myself..ok, I’m back, not exactly this:
A para social relationship is a one-sided relationship in which a person develops a strong sense of connection, intimacy, or familiarity with someone they don’t know, most often celebrities or media personalities¹. These relationships exist only in the mind of the individual, who experiences a bond despite the lack of reciprocity.

Some people may have a weird negative relationship with celebrities they don't know because they feel jealous, resentful, or threatened by them. This can lead to feelings of anger, hatred, or contempt towards the celebrity, which may be expressed through online trolling, harassment, or even stalking. This type of parasocial relationship is unhealthy and can have negative consequences for both the person and the celebrity involved.

If you are interested in learning more about parasocial relationships, you can check out these articles:

- [What Is a Parasocial Relationship?](^2^)
- [What Are Parasocial Relationships—And Are They Healthy?](^3^)
- [parasocial relationship | Meaning & Origin](^4^)

I hope this helps.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/2/2024
(1) Parasocial Relationships | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/parasocial-relationships.
(2) What Is a Parasocial Relationship? - Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-parasocial-relationship-5210770.
(3) What Are Parasocial Relationships—And Are They Healthy?. https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/parasocial-relationships/.
(4) parasocial relationship | Meaning & Origin | Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/e/tech-science/parasocial-relationship/.
I'm not threatened by Bill Simmons. I just think he's a petty dude who stopped trying and has become a caricature of himself.

I was one of the bigger Bill Simmons defenders for well over a decade, in fact. But he's fallen off a cliff.
 

luckiestman

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I'm not threatened by Bill Simmons. I just think he's a petty dude who stopped trying and has become a caricature of himself.

I was one of the bigger Bill Simmons defenders for well over a decade, in fact. But he's fallen off a cliff.
I’m not saying you’re jealous I’m saying diatribes in a thread about a podcast you don’t listen to are a bit much. It’s like Reddit disease where every subreddit becomes about hating the thing the members used to like.
 

8slim

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Yeesh. Bill is still good on this pod. He’s funny and the material is inherently light.

He does a good job of letting Chris, Van and Sean cook. Those guys are the real stars.

They’ve definitely gotten a bit cute with the movies they discuss in recent months. Especially when there’s a decent amount of hits that they haven’t covered yet.

At the same time, I hadn’t seen the Pelican Brief in two decades yet the episode was such a fun listen.

I also find the Simmons venom weirdly personal. And I’m likely the only one in this thread who’s been on the receiving end of nasty work emails from him. So if *I’m* finding it weird, it’s probably weird.
 

The Filthy One

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For me, it's not Simmons or at least not only him. He can be plenty entertaining. It's honestly just a feeling that I've spent too much time listening to these people as a group. I get frustrated that they stay pretty surface-level on most of the movies, but that's my thing, not a problem with their podcast per se.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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For me, it's not Simmons or at least not only him. He can be plenty entertaining. It's honestly just a feeling that I've spent too much time listening to these people as a group. I get frustrated that they stay pretty surface-level on most of the movies, but that's my thing, not a problem with their podcast per se.
Interesting. I think maybe that's the same for me. I have been less and less interested in Rewatchables, and that coincides with getting into podcasts that go a little deeper or that cover movies in different ways that are more about how I think about them.
 

CantKeepmedown

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I'll do rewatchables if I really enjoy the movie or have seen it more than few times. I've been listening to a lot of the Fincher Blank Check series and just started digging into "This Had Oscar Buzz" as well. Sometimes the hosts go on tangents not necessarily related to the movie, but the other stuff more than makes up for it. They are incredibly researched (at least beyond Bill's wiki/IMDB reads) and enjoyable listens, IMO.
 

DJnVa

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When they do movies that aren't *really* rewatchable, that's when he should sit out. And they freely admit to the fact there's big movies still out there to do--get to them.
 

cromulence

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I agree that they're making some obscure choices lately, but I'm biased on this one - I looooooved Searching for Bobby Fischer as a kid. My sister and I became obsessed with chess for a week or two after watching it the first time and tried to get our parents to buy us those push-button clocks that time your moves. They were smart enough not to do that.
 

TheGazelle

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When they do movies that aren't *really* rewatchable, that's when he should sit out. And they freely admit to the fact there's big movies still out there to do--get to them.
Or he should sit out on some of the obvious rewatchable movies he doesn't want to do (LOTR and Star Wars, to pick 2 series).
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Or he should sit out on some of the obvious rewatchable movies he doesn't want to do (LOTR and Star Wars, to pick 2 series).
I was surprised when he sat in on the Iron Man episode given his antipathy for the MCU. That was one he could/should have skipped.
 

Eric1984

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Other than American Pie, it's been a while since he's done one that interested me -- either I'd seen it but it wasn't a memorable enough movie to spend a commute listening to him talk about it or it was something I hadn't seen and didn't have any interest in seeing.
 

Van Everyman

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I’ve only recently started listening to these in earnest – on long drives, or when I have a lot of kid schlepping to do (on the way there of course, otherwise it’s TayTay).

I understand all the criticisms of Simmons but this show plays to his strengths, and I’m always intrigued to hear him reconcile his initial bro-ish reaction to a film with modern standards.

As for selections, I thought the Officer and a Gentleman ep was about as good as it gets. Two weeks later, I’m still chuckling about the Byron Mayo stuff.
 

luckiestman

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I’ve only recently started listening to these in earnest – on long drives, or when I have a lot of kid schlepping to do (on the way there of course, otherwise it’s TayTay).

I understand all the criticisms of Simmons but this show plays to his strengths, and I’m always intrigued to hear him reconcile his initial bro-ish reaction to a film with modern standards.

As for selections, I thought the Officer and a Gentleman ep was about as good as it gets. Two weeks later, I’m still chuckling about the Byron Mayo stuff.
I love that one too. If you haven’t listened to it yet, The Verdict is a great episode. I really loved Jaws and Miami Vice but I also love those movies. Die Hard has the most party atmosphere of any ep.
 

Van Everyman

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I love that one too. If you haven’t listened to it yet, The Verdict is a great episode. I really loved Jaws and Miami Vice but I also love those movies. Die Hard has the most party atmosphere of any ep.
Funny: the first one I heard was Jaws, loved it but for whatever reason, didn’t come back to the pod for a while. When I first dipped in a few months ago to listen to the Boogie Nights one, I listened to (and loved) The Verdict episode.

At its best, the show is this very enjoyable balance of “A bunch of people shooting the bull about movies they saw a thousand times on TNT” and actual movie criticism (often by Ryan). But the sum is less about the movies themselves than our relationship with them – the stars, the circumstances of how they were made and how we experienced them over the years. And I enjoy that.

It’s like comfort food – I’m not always in the mood for it but when I am, I am.
 

CantKeepmedown

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I'll let Vandalman do his thing but really looking forward to listening to this next one. A great movie and truly a Rewatchable for me. I just wish it was Bill, CR, and Sean.
 

Vandalman

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The banana boat’s a-coming for Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan as they prepare for liftoff with Robert Zemeckis’s 2012 drama, ‘Flight,’ starring Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, and John Goodman.
 

The Filthy One

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The Searching for Bobby Fisher episode is a great example of them not going even one level deeper than the surface. For instance, they talk about how the film was nominated for best cinematography, but there's no examination of why. They have the "Great Shot, Gordo" category and they talk about the match between Josh and evil chess kid, but they don't talk about the best part or the cleverest thing the filmmakers do in that scene. The final showdown between Josh and the evil chess kid is masterful because of what they do with the lighting. Josh has these big bright fill lights in his eyes, which gives him spark, twinkle, or soul. The evil chess kid has little to no fill light, which makes him look soulless and cold. I'd never seen that before in a movie until Searching for Bobby Fisher, and I suspect it's one of the reasons the movie was nominated for an Oscar. Maybe they needed one of the more film scholar-type contributors on the pod for that episode. I would have preferred they dive deeper on that rather than, say, the five minute digression into the HBO movie about the Rat Pack.
 

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The Searching for Bobby Fisher episode is a great example of them not going even one level deeper than the surface. For instance, they talk about how the film was nominated for best cinematography, but there's no examination of why. They have the "Great Shot, Gordo" category and they talk about the match between Josh and evil chess kid, but they don't talk about the best part or the cleverest thing the filmmakers do in that scene. The final showdown between Josh and the evil chess kid is masterful because of what they do with the lighting. Josh has these big bright fill lights in his eyes, which gives him spark, twinkle, or soul. The evil chess kid has little to no fill light, which makes him look soulless and cold. I'd never seen that before in a movie until Searching for Bobby Fisher, and I suspect it's one of the reasons the movie was nominated for an Oscar. Maybe they needed one of the more film scholar-type contributors on the pod for that episode. I would have preferred they dive deeper on that rather than, say, the five minute digression into the HBO movie about the Rat Pack.
Usually, that sort of thing is left to Fennessey.

And then Bill ends up making fun of him for it. "Lookit Pauline Kael over here!"
 

Spelunker

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Wow. ALL the Philly boys doing Silver Linings Playbook, dropping today, might get them killed.
 

luckiestman

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Wow. ALL the Philly boys doing Silver Linings Playbook, dropping today, might get them killed.
People that know me are sometimes surprised to find out I love this movie*. Hope it is a good episode

*might be a good thread. “People are shocked to find out I love {insert film}”.
 

Vandalman

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The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan are joined by The New York Times’ Wesley Morris as they look to be a part of justice and discuss what that case is really all about by rewatching Jonathan Demme's 1993 drama, ‘Philadelphia,’ starring Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks.
 

kfoss99

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Chris didn't do his Wayne Jenkins impersonation on the latest episode.

And, I think, two episodes in a row without the montage to intro. the Overacting category.

I'll be disappointed if those go away in 2024.
 

TheGazelle

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Chris didn't do his Wayne Jenkins impersonation on the latest episode.

And, I think, two episodes in a row without the montage to intro. the Overacting category.

I'll be disappointed if those go away in 2024.
I think they sometimes don't do the overacting montage when Bill doesn't give a beat to allow the producers to insert the clip. I think this was one of those situations because BS repeatedly said versions of "we're running behind" throughout the pod, in turn causing him to race some of the categories. Which, although I like him, is a function of Wesley Morris speaking in paragraphs.

And I agree on Wayne - every time we don't get that I feel robbed. But it's probably good that CR doesn't force it every single time.
 

Spelunker

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I think they sometimes don't do the overacting montage when Bill doesn't give a beat to allow the producers to insert the clip. I think this was one of those situations because BS repeatedly said versions of "we're running behind" throughout the pod, in turn causing him to race some of the categories. Which, although I like him, is a function of Wesley Morris speaking in paragraphs.

And I agree on Wayne - every time we don't get that I feel robbed. But it's probably good that CR doesn't force it every single time.
Could also be that CR thought it could come off a bit distasteful given the subject matter
 

epraz

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Yeah what do you want him to say? "Goddamn, Andy, I didn't know you spent time at the Stallion! Gonna spend a looooong time in the hospital with those lesions" It's not what you want to hear.