Jump to content

The White House Plumbers- Woody Harrelson, Lena Heady, Judy Greer, Justin Thoreaux- HBO Max

shadow_operative

By shadow_operative
in Movies and TV

 Share

Recommended Posts

washparkhorn

washparkhorn 9939

Posted
Posted

Looking forward to it. 

Liddy's book is a good read to understand the alternative universe he lived in. 

Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy by Liddy, G ...

He walked a fine line between sane and insane. 

Spoiler

The autobiographical aspect of the book is equally disturbing. He writes a lot about his father, pain, J. Edgar Hoover, and -- in a generally adolescent way -- about matters sexual. This is all stuff for anyone interested in the psycho-drama. Liddy puts himself forward and on the analyst's couch with embarrassing candor.

For instance, he writes that, as a child, "the most frightening menace of all" was God. Liddy was consumed by shame, dread, fear and self-loathing. The first relief from his bleak childhood was the music he heard on a shortwave radio from Nazi Germany in the 1930s: "The music . . . was martial and stirring. I lost myself in its strains; it made me feel a strength inside I had never known before . . . Der Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler . . . sent an electric current through my body."

Later, while in prison for his Watergate crimes, he got an associate warden in serious trouble -- a victory hailed by a group of blacks who greeted Liddy one afternoon with raised, approving fists.

Liddy writes, "A feeling of immense power came over me. The martial music and roaring crowds that thundered through the shortwave 40 years before rang through my mind again with undiminished strength as I answered the blacks' salute with the one I'd learned before . . . my right arm shout out, palm down, and was answered by a roar of approval. In that moment I felt like a god."

There is also lots of tough-guy talk and macho stories -- all much less believable than what he writes about Watergate. Liddy is obsessed with guns; some of the book reads like a Smith & Wesson catalouge. For example, one trusted weapon "had a quick-draw ramp front sight, a wide-spur target hammer, and rear sights click-adjustable for windage and elevation." This is the man who says that when he first came to Washington he was "traveling light" and brought only three guns -- "my .357 magnum Smith & Wesson; a snubnosed Colt .38 Special and a big Colt 1911 model .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol."

As part of a program he followed to develop his willpower -- to make himself into a kind of machine, free of emotion and fear -- Liddy literally tested himself by fire. He learned to hold his hand over a candle flame and watch without flinching as his flesh burned. "Suffering. That was the key," to achieving his goals, he writes.

He is clearly able to write without sentimentality about his wife, whom he selected because he thought that she had good genes. "Although one of the reasons I had chosen Frances to be the mother of my children was her size and strength, which should have enabled her to bear half a dozen high-performance children, I certainly had not intended to risk damage by pushing her to design limit," so he does not insist she have the six children he wanted in six years. As an FBI agent he ran a name check on her through the files before marrying her. He also says he checked his neighbors names in the FBI files.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1980/05/18/gordon-liddy-spills-his-guts/aeb77942-67e2-4c39-b249-c5628100ac1a/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89628

Posted
Posted
47 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Do we get to see Judy Greers tits again like in Reboot, because they were spectacular.

13 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Everything about Judy Greer has always been spectacular. It seems like people are finally noticing. 

2 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Judy Greer is the perfect woman. Great toys and legs and funny as hell.

sexy take me GIF by Archer

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Drool 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
thrillhammer

thrillhammer 683

Posted
Posted

watched the first episode last night.  pretty entertaining and will stick with it.  not sure why every writer/producer/director insists on making this story a comedy.   just like in gaslit, the players are made to look like buffoons.  i mean, they were to begin with, but they just overplay it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Augustus

Augustus 3061

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

watched the first episode last night.  pretty entertaining and will stick with it.  not sure why every writer/producer/director insists on making this story a comedy.   just like in gaslit, the players are made to look like buffoons.  i mean, they were to begin with, but they just overplay it.

 

I was disappointed by this, as well.  It was clear pretty quickly this would be campy as hell.  They did a damned fine job of making it hilarious, so I give 'em a thumbs up in that regard, but I'd love to see a limited series that takes the subject matter seriously.  It's one of the most fascinating periods in our nation's history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
C-Man

C-Man 27188

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

watched the first episode last night.  pretty entertaining and will stick with it.  not sure why every writer/producer/director insists on making this story a comedy.   just like in gaslit, the players are made to look like buffoons.  i mean, they were to begin with, but they just overplay it.

 

4 hours ago, Augustus said:

 

I was disappointed by this, as well.  It was clear pretty quickly this would be campy as hell.  They did a damned fine job of making it hilarious, so I give 'em a thumbs up in that regard, but I'd love to see a limited series that takes the subject matter seriously.  It's one of the most fascinating periods in our nation's history.

Maybe. But the events are so damn absurd, you almost have to laugh. I actually didn't know much about Hunt so I read some stuff on him last night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brandywine

Brandywine 1316

Posted
Posted

If you have a chance, visit the Nixon Presidential Library. I visited it recently and, surprisingly, found it better than I thought it would be. As in most Presidential Libraries they pumped up his achievements and his background but they did not shy away from Watergate. The first thing you do when you start the tour is watch a short film of his resignation. Then further into the exhibits they have a whole section on Watergate - why it happened and the people involved, Nixon’s part, and the aftermath. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
C-Man

C-Man 27188

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

This show isn't doing much for me.  I may give it one more.

I've been entertained by the first two. I love Woody and Theroux so maybe I'm giving them a little longer rope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SizzleChest

SizzleChest 8283

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2023 at 1:47 PM, kevwun said:

I am still trying to understand how they let a complete nut like Liddy do anything for the White House or campaign.

Hal Halbrook (as Deep Throat in ATPM) put it like this when asked why would they do this, because they had the election pretty much sewn up: “These just aren’t very bright guys.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites
billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11448

Posted
Posted

Big Lena Headey fan. It broke my heart when they cut her hair on GOT. It’s truly staggering Septa Unella is a much bigger star than Cersei. 
 

Really weird marriage. What did Dorothy Hunt ever see in Howard? She’s smart, worldly, and it in good standing at the CIA. Howard is an oaf, bigoted, and a DC outcast. She could have stepped in at any time and saved her husband from himself, but instead she’s making sandwiches for the Cubans. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HornOnTheBayou

HornOnTheBayou 8910

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

I could do without the crazy voices/accents/intonations etc

Just super distracting.

I like the series but it makes it a harder watch.

Which ones are you referring to? Theroux as Liddy really is spot on. In the 90s, I worked as a DJ at an AM talk radio station that ran Liddy's show. He was a more conservative Limbaugh who railed on the federal government for Waco and Ruby Ridge. But his voice and mannerisms are exactly like Theroux makes him out to be. And he would bring up the most random topics in his insane ramblings. Sometimes it was about self defense, sometimes it was about how to study when you go to law school, sometimes it was about the best weapon to use when federal agents were busting down your door.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11448

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

I could do without the crazy voices/accents/intonations etc

Just super distracting.

I like the series but it makes it a harder watch.

No complaints with Theroux as Liddy.

I do think Woody should have played Hunt more straight up. He’s going for it, and it’s not working. After this last episode, Hunt is a sympathetic character, but you can’t get there because Woody’s portrayal is so over the top. 
 

And the Cubans. Man alive. There’s some stereotypical stuff there that just seems lazy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Longhorn Fever

Longhorn Fever 267

Posted
Posted

My wife just played the show podcast. I was blown away to learn that Dita Beard was portrayed by Kathleen Turner. I did not recognize her.

 

Also, I will add another voice to the chorus that Theroux has Liddy’s voice nailed down.

 

According to at least one Watergate historian the Project Gemstone pitch is pretty close to real life with the biggest exception was that Hunt was not there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bama Chick

Bama Chick 28596

Posted
Posted

I am loving this show and Theroux is nailing it.

I Googled Kevan Hunt and in real life she’s an attorney and fiction author but I can find no mention at all on her personal website or social media about her father.

I’m curious to see how that relationship goes in the show because she is obviously his favorite kid and it seems to be setting up some conflict between them once everything goes to shit for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bullzak

bullzak 416

Posted
Posted

I didn't really want to like this since I remember those events, etc and wasn't digging the comedy piece. But holy shit these people were so inept there is no other way to characterize this deal. 

Morons. And the best part is Nixon was never ever in danger of losing that election. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
shakahorn

shakahorn 1645

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2023 at 8:49 AM, 4th&Five said:

This show isn't doing much for me.  I may give it one more.

I said that after ep 1.  ep 2 improved a bit and ep 3 I thought was really good.  Was gonna watch ep 4 right 3 when to my surprise I found out I had caught up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
C-Man

C-Man 27188

Posted
Posted
On 5/19/2023 at 12:51 PM, bullzak said:

I didn't really want to like this since I remember those events, etc and wasn't digging the comedy piece. But holy shit these people were so inept there is no other way to characterize this deal. 

Morons. And the best part is Nixon was never ever in danger of losing that election. 

 

And it was all being done without Nixon's direct knowledge. You know the old saying where the coverup is worse than the crime. Nixon should've cut these buffoons loose when it came out what they'd done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...