Feedback: Stevie Nicks meets her Boswell, Jim Carrey inhabits Joe Biden, ‘Baking Show’ politics

I thoroughly enjoyed Amy Kaufman’s excellent piece on Stevie Nicks [“Goddess of Moonlight,” Oct. 4]. It was so well written and so insightful, it really captured her life and her essence very eloquently.

Lifelong Stevie fan here. What a treat that Kaufman got to speak with her at length. I was intrigued by the insights into her life and her thoughts right now.
Thanks again and keep those Stevie articles coming.

Jonathan Kalman
Chandler, Ariz.

::

That was so thorough, yet so focused on who she is. I just loved it. Well done.

James H. McMackin III
Wilmington, Del.

::

Kaufman is a wonderful storyteller. Thank you for bringing this story into the world.

Jenni Schlieper
Pittsburgh

Live from New York …

Regarding “So-So ‘SNL’ Caps a Crazy Week” [Oct. 4]: What am I lacking in judgement that I found Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Joe Biden on “Saturday Night Live” brilliant? There were times I really thought I was watching the man himself.

Robert Lloyd and I will just have to agree to disagree. That’s what used to make the showbiz world go round.

Susan Harris
Glendale

This talent pool is deep and wide

Thank you for Yvonne Villarreal’s profile of Justina Machado [“The Belle of Prime Time,” Oct. 5]. I’m glad she gave a shoutout to the “I Love Lupe” pilot. It was my supreme pleasure to write and produce it at Castle Rock Television and to work with her, its exceptional lead, and its stellar Latino cast.

When Glenn Padnick (president of Castle Rock at the time) and I began production, numerous casting directors told me that “the Latino talent pool is very shallow.”

Yes, they said that. And they were so wrong.

The Latino talent pool was — and is — profoundly deep. It was the vision of network television that was, if not shallow, let’s say slow to realize the reality.

Thankfully, that continues to change, as evidenced by Machado’s critically acclaimed show, “One Day at a Time.”

Here’s to continued success for Machado and her brilliant cast. I wish it had been “Lupe,” but I’m so happy that it’s “Time.”

Julia Newton
Studio City

A new recipe for debates

Regarding [“Great ‘Baking Show’ Debate,” by Robert Lloyd, Oct. 1]: While I am devastated that it’s appropriate, your review using the debates as contrast was perfect. Unfortunately.

Jacquie Wagner
Garden Grove

::

Wonderful stuff; it’s the only positive thing I’ve read in a long time and so meaningful in its content.

“The institution is strong, the format solid.

“Not of competition but camaraderie.”

This is the kind of baking show I believe everyone would enjoy. Forget the politics. There is little hope, as you said, for our current direction. Let’s start anew with “The Great American Baking Show.”

I’ve worked in the television industry for many years. I wish I knew a producer or two to help launch such a great format.

Rick Mervis
Northridge

Hidden costs of the pandemic

Thank you for Mary McNamara’s column [“Confession: I Miss Commuting,” Oct. 1]. It was wonderful. It was so funny, probably because it was so truthful or relatable.

I think I agree with every one of her missed items in much the same way. And it was great to read it in a physical newspaper, which is something I’ll miss in the future, but that’s another story/column for then.

Maybe it’s paradoxical, but the column was about things missed, so that could make us sad or wistful, but it instead felt like a soothing tonic in these pandemic times, like a soothing ointment on a wound. Like peppermint.

Also, this column humorously acknowledges what some of us are experiencing now, which makes a connection among us all that in turn makes dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic (and hopefully surviving it) a little easier (and even fun).

Lindsey Mark Jang
Los Angeles

Reviews cover a lot of ground

Regarding the review of “On the Rocks” [“Oh, to Be Portrayed by Bill Murray,” Oct. 1]: I’ve discovered that it takes longer to read a Justin Chang review than to watch the actual movie.

John Kwiatkowski
Los Angeles

Gruesome cover photo

Have we become so immune to violence that it’s appropriate to put a severed head on the cover of your Calendar section [“Turns Out, Plenty of Life Left in World of ‘Dead,’” by Michael Ordoña, Oct. 1]?

I think not. We don’t want to see that ever.

Mindy Taylor-Ross
Venice