ACROSS
1 Ophthalmic sore
5 Season-ending
college football
game
9 Stories spanning
decades
14 __ hygiene
15 Bounce off a 
wall
16 Chopin piece
17 Evening show
with headlines
and stories
19 Flabbergast
20 Swiss convention
city
21 Fist-pump cry
23 Sales force
member
24 ’60s protest org.
25 Periods that 
may decide 
5-Acrosses,
briefly
27 Andean animal
29 Like perceptive
hindsight
33 Promise before
testimony
36 Take to court
37 Journalist 
Couric
38 German coal
valley
39 Lifts on slopes
42 Gotten a glimpse
of
43 Uncomfortably
pricey
45 One collaring a
perp
46 Watch displays,
briefly
47 Generic 
pre-sunrise hour
51 Prefix for Rome’s
country
52 Use a shovel
53 Pound sound
56 __ Palmas:
Canary Islands
city
58 “No damage
done”
60 Five cents
62 Yellowish brown
64 Farm’s remote
acreage
66 French sweetie
67 Inland Asian sea
68 Eve’s opposite
69 Frankfurt’s state
70 Lowdown
71 Soon, to a bard

DOWN
1 Billy Joel
creations
2 Trapped on a
branch
3 Signs of boredom
4 “Is there
something __?”
5 Software trial
6 Halloween mo.
7 Food for Miss
Muffet
8 Needing
company
9 Seattle athlete
10 Fast-cash spot,
for short
11 “Money-back”
assurance,
perhaps
12 Carving tool
13 Ooze
18 Swear to be true
22 Bottom-row PC
key
26 Dismiss with
disdain
28 Insultingly small,
as a payment
29 “... or else!”
remark
30 Instruct
31 Even on the
scoreboard
32 Strong desires

33 Not exactly
34 Writer: Abbr.
35 Things to wash
after dinner
40 __ rage: PED
user’s aggression
41 Very light rain
44 Grassland
48 Netherlands
airline
49 “That’s a shame”
50 Jubilant end-of-
week cry

53 Ohio rubber city
54 Back in style
55 Swashbuckling
Errol
56 __ Ness monster
57 Steady pain
59 Corn syrup brand
61 Unconscious
state
63 Ambulance
destinations:
Abbr.
65 Golfer’s hat

By Brock Wilson
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/02/17

10/02/17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Monday, October 2, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

5A — Monday, October 2, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘Transparent’ & the curse 
of the TV mid-series lull

AMAZON

‘Transparent’ is avaliable exclusively on Amazon

The popular Amazon show inevitably faces the hurdle of others

There comes a turning point 

in almost every great TV show 
where the writers and creators 
have to decide what’s next for 
their characters. The obvious 
path is to keep following the 
same track it started with, 
or occasionally, veer off into 
experimental 
territory 
with 

a new setting or additional 
supporting players. These paths, 
however, are not always met 
with the kindest responses from 
critics and fans. In fact, more 
often than not, these thematic 
continuations 
or 
alternative 

explorations induce the show 
into a “mid-series lull,” a period 
in which TV shows tend to falter 
after a hot streak of critical 
acclaim. 

This 
sneaky 
lull 
became 

apparent on the newest season 
of 
Amazon’s 
“Transparent.” 

Since its beginning in 2014, the 
Jill 
Soloway-created 
family 

dramedy has been a creative 
landmark 
in 
serialized 
TV 

storytelling. Not only does the 
show incorporate a diverse and 
talented ensemble cast, but it 
also shines with consistent and 
expansive character arcs. But 
because the immediacy of the 
streaming platform influences 
these arcs, the writers are 
forced to structure each season 
for a binge-watching crowd, a 
strategy that could either make 
the episodes feel too cramped or 
too bloated.

Unlike 
its 
first 
three 

incredible seasons, season four 
of “Transparent” feels like the 
show’s first major misstep. The 
show’s writing, acting, directing 

and cinematography remain as 
sharp as ever, but the lopsided 
plot structure has somewhat 
flattened the character arcs.

In 
season 
four, 
Maura 

(Jeffrey 
Tambor, 
“Arrested 

Development”) 
invites 
the 

Pfefferman clan to Israel for a 
mini vacation and also to reunite 
with her long-lost father Moshe 
(Jerry Adler, “A Most Violent 
Year”). At the same time, nebbish 
matriarch Shelly (Judith Light, 
“Ugly Betty”) sublimates a dark 
secret with an interest in improv 
comedy, a subplot that backfires 
in 
a 
melodramatic 
twist 

toward the end of the season. 
Schlubby Josh (Jay Duplass, 
“Room 104”) also confronts 
his childhood traumas, but his 
inner demon-fighting isn’t given 
the screen time it deserves. 
Sarah (Amy Landecker, “The 
Meddler”), the show’s least 

SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

TV NOTEBOOK

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Steve Carell and Emma Stone star in ‘Battle of the Sexes’

developed character, continues 
to make impulsive choices in 
her unconventional marriage. 
And Allie (Gabby Hoffmann, 
“Obvious Child”), the show’s 
most 
developed 
character, 

plays into the one-dimensional 
stereotype of the “social justice 
warrior” with her criticisms of 
Israel.

Instead of expanding the 

already 
immense 
emotional 

growth 
in 
its 
characters, 

this 
season’s 
emphasis 
on 

melodrama and politics simply 
reinforces 
each 
character’s 

regressive qualities. The show 
has always done an incredible 
job of exploring the richness 
of identity and the complexity 
of family history, specifically 
through the lens of Maura 
embracing her trans identity, 
but there is very little of that 
signature spark here.

Perhaps you could blame 

the 
experimentation 
of 

displacing the Pfeffermans in 
a new environment. Perhaps 
you can blame the inevitable 
comfortability that comes with 
writing the same characters 
going 
through 
the 
same 

obstacles. And perhaps you 
can blame the structure of 
the 
streaming 
platform 
for 

confining the writers to stick 

a formula that works only for a 
certain type of viewer.

Granted, 
there 
are 
some 

wholesome 
moments 
during 

this season — Maura’s struggle 
to reconnect with her father 
and her past self is the most 
emotionally 
stirring 
of 
the 

season’s subplots — and a 
welcome new character — the 
lovely Alia Shawkat (“Search 
Party”) 
plays 
a 
recovering 

sex addict who engages in a 
three-way 
relationship 
with 

Sarah and her husband Len 
(Rob 
Huebel, 
“Baywatch”). 

But what could have been a 
season that extracted more 
nuances from the Pfefferman’s 
family dynamics, and queer 
Jewish 
culture, 
given 
this 

season’s location, ends up being 
a muddled mess of contrived 
crises.

Of 
course, 
“Transparent” 

is not the first popular show 
that suffered from a mid-series 
rough patch, and it’s certainly 
not the last. CBS’s “How I Met 
Your 
Mother” 
disappointed 

devoted fans in its last few 
seasons, the final one being an 
overlong string of filler episodes. 
In the aftermath of its amazing 
third season, NBC’s “30 Rock” 
experienced a few tepid seasons 
before it recalibrated and found 

its mojo again. Fox’s “Glee” 
was especially hit early on with 
mixed to negative reception 
after its first two seasons. More 
recently, Netflix’s “Orange is the 
New Black” went through the 
mid-series lull, its fifth season’s 
three-day timeframe receiving 
an ambivalent reaction.

Sometimes, 
the 
risk 
of 

experimentation and repetition 
doesn’t have the greatest payoff. 
Even when a TV show is doing 
well, taking that risk may be a 
sign that TV writers are either 
getting stuck in a creative loop 
or feeling like their material 
isn’t compelling enough and 
therefore need to defy people’s 
expectations. 
At 
the 
same 

time, there isn’t an easy way to 
combat the lull. Every creative 
person goes through an artistic 
funk, whether it’s trying to 
break out of familiar patterns 
or having to constantly move 
your characters and ideas in 
new directions. A show like 
“Transparent,” however, has 
promise, even if its most recent 
season 
didn’t 
display 
the 

most remarkable of arcs and 
resolutions. But as long as TV 
shows such as “Transparent” 
keep moving forward, it’s only 
a matter of finding where to go 
and how to get there.

FILM REVIEW

Carell & Stone shine in the 
pertinent ‘Battle of Sexes’

In a historic tennis game, questions of equal rights are broached

In 1973, the entire population 

of “meninists” — an unfortunate 
population, 
indeed 
— 
have 

placed their bets on Bobby 
Riggs, retired tennis superstar, 
to prove to humanity that men 
are superior to women. Riggs 
must beat Billie Jean King, the 
world’s best female tennis player, 
to end the dispute and silence 
“libbers” for good. On Sept. 20, 
the two faced off at the Houston 
Astrodome in one of the most 
watched tennis matches of all 
time. And for the goodness of 
humanity, Riggs was humiliated.

The victory itself, however, 

is the least liberating part for 
King; it was one stepping stone 
in her path to self-discovery and 
liberation.

“Battle of the Sexes” is an 

atypical historical sports movie. 
The match itself — something 
that would normally be the 
end goal and most captivating 
moment — is really just the 
culmination 
of 
King’s 
fight 

for equal pay. Unlike “Rocky” 
or 
“Rudy,” 
intense 
training 

sequences are replaced with King 
fighting for equality in an uphill 
battle against a sexist USTA 
administration. Simon Beaufoy’s 
(“Slumdog Millionaire”) tight 
screenplay captures the lives of 
King and Briggs and what led to 
their trivial yet historic match.

King, perfectly portrayed by 

Emma Stone (“La La Land”), 
boycotts the USTA after she’s 
paid an eighth the amount of 
her 
male 
counterparts. 
She 

then goes on a tour organized 
by 
Gladys 
Heldman 
(Sarah 

Silverman, “Wreck it Ralph”), 

founder 
of 
World 
Tennis 

Magazine, 
featuring 
other 

women tennis stars joining her 
efforts. For Riggs (Steve Carell, 
“Foxcatcher”), 
a 
pervasive 

gambling 
addiction 
and 

crumbling 
marriage 
catalyze 

his return to the public eye. 
He was akin to fellow tennis 
showman John McEnroe, with 
less 
emphasis 
on 
courtside 

outbursts and more on his 
eccentric demeanor and knack 
for self promotion. Although 
the match itself 
is only a fraction 
of 
the 
movie, 

King and Riggs 
are perfect foils: 
her 
poise 
and 

grace 
contrasts 

his 
bombastic 

eccentrics.

Both 
Stone 

and 
Carell’s 

performances 
are 
dead-on 

replications. 
Every 
moment 

feels 
like 
you’re 
watching 

King and Riggs brought back 
to their respective ages in a 
time machine. From Riggs’s 
idiosyncrasies 
to 
King’s 

confidence, both actors deliver 
performances that stand out as 
some of their best. Carell has 
grown from a sitcom all-star 
to an actor that can mold — 
quite literally — into any role. 
His last several performances 
include 
face 
prosthetics 
so 

realistic it feels like you aren’t 
even watching the same man 
who once played Michael Scott 
on “The Office.” But it’s Stone’s 
potent onscreen performance 
that transcends “Battle of the 
Sexes” from being just another 
inspirational flick to a socially 

conscious, gripping tale.

Stone’s 
subtle 
facial 

expressions and gestures hinting 
at her newfound love for her 
hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea 
Riseborough, “Birdman”) stand 
out as the movie’s best moments. 
We forget the purpose of the tour 
— obtaining equal pay — and are 
immediately drawn into their 
relationship. Directors Jonathan 
Dayton and Valerie Faris (“Little 
Miss 
Sunshine”) 
effortlessly 

show the controversy and beauty 

in the character’s 
affection; subtlety 
replaces grandiose 
cheesiness, though 
the movie walks a 
fine line between 
melodrama 
and 

camp.

“Battle of the 

Sexes” ambitiously 
takes on two huge 
tasks: 
LGBTQ 

rights and equal 
pay. Dayton and 
Faris 
succeed 

at representing both, but it 
ultimately feels like the two sides 
are missing key elements. The 
battle for equal pay, something 
that easily could be the sole 
plot, takes a backseat to King’s 
relationship 
with 
Marilyn. 

Then, as we’re drawn into it, 
the plot shifts to the King-Riggs 
match. Although the story is 
based on reality, going back-and-
forth between two incredibly 
important themes is a lofty goal, 
one that isn’t quite met.

Regardless, King’s story is a 

triumphant display of bravery, 
and after over forty years, it 
needed to be told. In a genre 
where women don’t get equal 
representation, “Battle of the 
Sexes” is a clear progression. 

WILL STEWART

Daily Arts Writer

“Battle of the 

Sexes”

Michigan 
Theater, 

Quality 16, Rave 

Cinemas

Fox Searchlight 

Pictures 

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