It helps a lot that he is played by Patrick Stewart, who brings theatrical majesty to a man who quite sincerely believes words can change the world for the better. Richard Lewis as the network shrink assigned to Walter is underused here but his presence is felt, and the notion that he may be there both for the benefit of helping Walter get healthy and helping the ratings through more nefarious prescriptions was amusing.
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Nor is he Walter Blunt, the decidedly different persona he tries on for size in the Starz comedy Blunt Talk.
But why this show in particular? But Stewart is at his most side-splitting when Blunt is simply being petulant. For some, the major appeal of Blunt Talk will be seeing such a venerable figure as Stewart engaging in sophomoric and reckless behaviors.
Jonathan Ames: I got an email from my agent saying that Seth MacFarlane was looking for a writer. He was intrigued when MacFarlane said that the British host he was envisioning would have a chaotic personal life.
“Seth said, ‘I love that idea, ‘” Ames said.
“Really, Seth didn’t need to say any more than that”, Stewart said. I was like, “OK, that’s interesting”. Then, one thing occurred, and I used to be exclusively enjoying deeply disturbed kings and neurotics.
Sir Patrick Stewart has achieved much throughout his long and storied career.
Patrick, what were your initial thoughts of the idea?
“I wrote this present for Patrick Stewart and created the character for him”. It was a lovely script, which for me was nearly entirely located away from the Enterprise – and it’s crew! “He is interested in the weird side of life”.
JA: The main interest, the news is a great building to house all these characters, in a sense, a stage for them all. Although there is chaos in his life, he sees that, I think, as a metaphor for the world in general.
Blunt Talk’s approach to humor isn’t typical set-up/punchline, but rather situational humor that comes at you fast with brilliant one-liners – another trait it shares with Veep.
Particularly in the wake of the absolute disillusionment with media icons like Hulk Hogan and Bill Cosby, another celebrity personality crumbling under the weight of his own success and ego isn’t a fantasy. Because you know Captain Picard never did.
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PS: My wife and I moved into a new apartment in Brooklyn and we were having problems with Time Warner. And so, after two days the poor woman was so frustrated with the service we’d been getting. If I kiss her, do I use tongue? We are in the midst of Peak Television, after all. That was what showed me, in the massive and instantaneous reaction to that tweet, the power of the Internet. Walter is at his most childlike when he is with Harry, asking him innocently, “have you ever realized that drinking actually makes you sadder?” It’s the flawless way to sum up the often hilarious Blunt Talk, where the 75-year-old Stewart is larger-than-life as Blunt, demanding out attention and deserving every moment of it.
