Enthusiasms - What to look forward to 7-5-24
Welcome to Enthusiasms. Your reminder to always be looking forward to something. Pulltab Sports Editor-In-Chief, John King, points you in the right direction.
THE BEAR SEASON 3
There’s a reason The Bear Season 3 is at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. While Season 2 remains the current apex of the show, the recently released (Hulu) Season 3 is best described as “the calm after the storm.” If this series turned you away initially because of all the on-screen anxiety inducing imagery or triggering from constant screaming—you’ll be pleased to know Season 3 operates at a far different cadence.
Viewers of The Bear will recall Season 2 culminated with the launch of Carmy’s new restaurant, a task that went swimmingly even though he was locked in a freezer for the entirety of this pivotal evening. And Carmy being Carmy, of course he said horrible things to nearly everyone he loved, standard protocol for a total control freak being locked in a freezer on opening night.
Season 3 starts with an intoxicating episode, completely focused on Carmen. I’m not even sure there’s a word of dialogue in the entire episode, but between Trent Reznor’s amazing score and some of the best food-porn you’ve ever seen on any screen, you won’t miss the words. Besides it makes sense for a restaurant show to start a season with a palette cleanser, especially after what went down at the end of Season 2.
The real magic of The Bear overall, and especially in Season 3, is that it’s not about food at all—it’s about the people. Most of the episodes in Season 3 are singular portraits of each of the main characters. Timelines get blurred with plenty of flashbacks, but the net result is you end up loading in an emotional dossier of every important character that should only strengthen the bond in seasons to come.
If Ted Lasso was your spirit animal during Covid, The Bear is a masterclass of self-improvement with dozens of bumper stickers each season to help us all deal with the enemy of our age—anxiety. Similar to films like Whiplash, the crux at the center of The Bear is the age-old issue of whether it’s okay to treat someone horribly if it helps them to reach their full potential. Carmy sits at the center of this debate, as everyone else in the restaurant is staring at him, trusting and begging him to “take us there, Bear” as they hope for a good review in the Chicago Tribune that will eventually lead to a Michelin star.
The Bear Season 3 is a gourmet meal in the world of prestige TV where the small screen has overtaken the multiplex. The character development is extraordinary, the soundtrack world class including a solo track from Eddie Vedder, the wisdom served with abundance (including this season’s “non-negotiables”), and the food porn will leave you salivating. While The Bear has food at its core, the care and precision with which they work is more like surgeons without the scrubs.
But perhaps the greatest, underestimated strength of The Bear is the humor. John Cena has an unreal cameo this season, dialing up the already palpable chemistry between Matty Matheson’s Neil and Ricky Staffieri’s Theodore. Whenever these guys are on screen, you’ll get a hearty chuckle. Not to mention the extremely awkward birth episode with Jamie Lee Curtis doing bedside manner like only she can.
In a world where TV continues to lap movies in terms of character development and emotional resonance, The Bear Season 3 may not be quite as good as last season, but it’s still better than (approximately 97%) of most things on television.
NEW COUNTRY ALBUMS FROM THE BIG 3
This summer will be marked with some epic releases by some of the biggest names in country music including Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson.
Morgan Wallen recently erased his Instagram account, making many fans predict he would drop his highly anticipated new record Lies Lies Lies on the 4th of July. It ended up being Zach Bryan, not Wallen, who would grab the pole position releasing The Great American Bar Scene on Independence Day.
Time will tell when the other two heavyweights, Wallen and Wilson, enter the ring, it appears they’ll likely stagger the launch. Wallen was rumored to start streaming his record July 5th, but opted for just a single, perhaps to give Bryan’s record some space.
It’s always risky to review a Zach Bryan record too quickly. Upon the first few listens, I felt his most recent self-titled record was a bit indulgent with all the guest spots and too few Zach Bryan songs that sounded like Zach Bryan (“El Dorado” and “East Side of Sorrow” excluded). Well, Zach Bryan proved to be a grower not a shower, and Bryan remains one of the most important song writers of the current age. Long way of saying it’s a bit scary to say you were underwhelmed by a new Zach Bryan record, because you might love it two weeks from now. That’s the power of Zach Bryan.
That said, early listens of The Great American Bar Scene would appear to be a bit too sad and slow for your July 4th pontoon boat cruise. At this stage in his career, the best way to think of any new record from Bryan is to count the new songs on each record that you’d be excited to listen to at his next live show. Clinging to the caveat that Zach Bryan knows more than we do about music, I’m not hearing a lot of songs on the new record that people will be pining to hear live. “American Nights” should be fun live, cut from the same denim as “Revival.” There a few nice ballads, including “28” and “Like Ida.” But the hard truth might be despite guest spots from the likes of John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen, “Pink Skies” and “Nine Ball,” two track we’ve had for a while now, might be the best songs on the new record.
It would appear that Zach has edged a bit too closely to the “sad boy country” genre he helped to pioneer, as most of the tracks on The Great American Bar Scene won’t get a full-throated response from his adoring fans. The new record is a bit sleepy on first listen, likely leaving Morgan and Lainey licking their chops, ready to steal the summer over the next few months.
THERE IS A NICKELBACK DOCUMENTARY AND YOU SHOULD WATCH IT
Netflix recently released the documentary Hate to Love: Nickelback. The documentary is worth watching, first and foremost because it allows you to text anyone you know and let them know you’re a) about to watch a Nickelback doc, b) are watching a Nickelback doc, or c) just watched a Nickelback. Actually, send all three texts.
And that’s the joke right there, isn’t it? Hence the title Hate to Love: Nickelback, the title shows how this band from small town Canada became larger than life only to be torn down by critics, memes and the masses. The reason to watch Hate to Love: Nickelback is simple, you’ll walk away thinking that Nickelback at their core is just a bunch of nice dudes (they are Canadian after all, and maybe bigger studs now?), who wanted to make music. The doc really uncovers that the world, and mostly the Internet, can be an awful place. In the end you’ll feel like Nickelback had nothing to do with any of the reasons the populist turned on them, and you’ll be happy that with help from their Canadian brethren including Ryan Reynolds, they’ve been picked back up and dusted off.
Nickelback is awesome, deep down we always knew it. The new documentary is just there to remind us. If you still doubt, go listen to some of their songs. I’ve always had a soft spot for “Far Away.” I mean, come on. Someone hand me a lighter, please.
THE ESPYS JULY 11
We are in the sports desert, folks. No NHL, no NFL, and no NBA for a few months. Yes, it’s just baseball and the WNBA for a bit. Well, fear not, there is one tent pole sports event that helps get us through this desert, the ESPYs.
Serena Williams will host the ESPYs on July 11th. Women’s basketball legend, Dawn Staley, is set to receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and Prince Harry the Pat Tillman Award for Service. ESPN and ABC always do a great job getting the stars to attend, and they’ll have no shortage of content this year from Caitlyn Clark to the P-Dub, and T.Swift helping the Chiefs win another one.
But the greatest part of the ESPYs is they will make you cry. If you love sports, the ESPYs will break you. Even if you’re a grizzled vet who shaves with a bowie knife, the God-fearing producers at the ESPYs will have you reaching for a box of tissues as they show you the true power of sport to help us overcome and connect. It’s a must watch every year, and your tears will be the perfect way to add a little moisture to the sports desert.
