Chuck Seniorisms by the Dozen, Part II

A Baker’s Dozen…And Then Some

You should know by now from my ‘Chuck Seniorisms by the Dozen’ Part I and watching the show Billions that Charles Rhoades Sr., often referred to simply as Senior, is played by the extraordinary actor Jeffrey DeMunn. Senior oozes a noble, high-born conviction with not so subtle hints of a slime ball undercurrent magnified by his Bob Barker mischievous smirk.

Senior is an Upper East Side grand master and epitome of the WASP elite who went to Yale and was a Whiffenpoof. He’s a member of the Yale Club of New York, stores his cigars at Nat Sherman Tobacco Lounge, although in season three he tells Wendy he’s cleaning out a walk-in closet of his prodigal son’s trivial prep school trophies to make room for a humidor, and hangs around with the likes of pals named Tate Tappan and Stuckey Brown, and rubs elbows with Kingmakers named Black Jack Foley.

Continue reading “Chuck Seniorisms by the Dozen, Part II”

Catching Up With Damian Lewis on
Billions Season 4 Set

I personally promised several of you to write about my conversation with Damian when I caught up with him on Billions set back in December as soon as I come back from vacation. I have been buried under teaching and committee work and meetings since I came back that I have just been able to find some time to sit and write. And while it may be a while ago and that I do sometimes not remember what I had for dinner last night, I vividly remember my conversation with Damian 😀

This blog has had an interesting relationship with Billions. I launched the blog only two weeks before they started shooting the pilot in New York and I have been very lucky to catch up with Damian on the set once every season since. I do not know how many times you need to do a thing for it to become a tradition, but catching up with Damian on Billions set once a year certainly feels like a tradition now.

The day I “met” Bobby Axelrod on Billions pilot set, February 3, 2015, source: Damianista

And when I saw Billions signs on Park Avenue on a Saturday evening in December, I thought I could continue the tradition. The signs hint that they might shoot at an ultra fancy restaurant where I could easily imagine Axe eat with other billionaires, and was happy that I could continue the tradition. Continue reading “Catching Up With Damian Lewis on Billions Season 4 Set”

Analyzing the New Billions Season 4 Poster Art, Logo, & Official Trailer Theme Song

Storming the Castle to Fight Back

On Friday, February 15, 2019 fans were treated to a belated Valentine’s Day gift when Showtime tweeted the newly released promotional material for Billions season four. And like last year when I analyzed the poster art for season three here, I will analyze (and over analyze) season four all the same. Are there spoilers, clues and hints hidden in the poster art, logo and official trailer song? I immediately began scrutinizing the photos and lyrics for suggestions and significance. When dissecting the details of the promo material and music, you’ll never guess what I found. So come with me on a deep dive and see if we can come up with an indication of what’s to come.

Continue reading “Analyzing the New Billions Season 4 Poster Art, Logo, & Official Trailer Theme Song”

Here Comes The Cheapest Man in America: “Dollar” Bill Stearn in Billions

We first meet “Dollar” Bill Stearn  in Billions Pilot where he tells Bobby Axelrod he is not uncertain that Axe Capital has to short Superior Auto. His boss agrees with his assessment while he calls him the cheapest man in America! And as we find out over time that Bill is a very colorful character from his two families to his love/hate relationship with Spyros, as well as a very loyal Axe Capital employee from his fake fight with Axe to him dropping his pants in front of Axe to prove his loyalty – Bill’s signature personality trait stands out as, well, cheapness! And the thing is the man has no problem with that. On the contrary, from his lucky dollar bill that he won in a poker game from Carl Icahn to the giant dollar sign in his garage, Dollar Bill OWNS his cheapness! Continue reading “Here Comes The Cheapest Man in America: “Dollar” Bill Stearn in Billions”

48 Reasons to Love Damian Lewis

Welcome to Damian’s Birthday Party!

Damian is my fellow Aquarian. And if you believe in horoscopes — I cannot say I do but I enjoy reading them — then 2019 will be a GOOD year for us 😀 But, honestly, when it comes to Damian’s year, we don’t really need to read the horoscope, the tea leaves, or having grown up in Turkey, the coffee cup for him 🙂

Firstly, we are looking forward to the premiere of Billions Season 4 on Showtime March 17 at 9pm ET/PT! The series has already become the premium network’s second biggest show ever after Homeland and guess what — there is only one actor that has played in Showtime’s two biggest shows! 😀 And then the two films Damian has completed in 2018, namely Run This Town and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are coming to a theater near us this year… So we can only imagine the possibilities 2019 may bring…

Happy Birthday, Damian! You make 48 look so damn good and so we have decided to come up with that many reasons to love you! ENJOY!

Continue reading “48 Reasons to Love Damian Lewis”