Actor Jack who was Quincy / TUE 8-12-14 / Single accompanier / Chocolaty spread since 1964 / Short opera piece / Counterfeiter f
THEME: "I'M NOT A DOCTOR / BUT / I PLAY ONE ON TV" (26A: With 40- and 48-Across, much-mocked ad phrase that could have been said by the answers to the four starred clues) — quote, plus the names of four relevant actors:
Theme answers:
- DEMPSEY (13A: *"Grey's Anatomy" actor Patrick)
- SEYMOUR (15A: *Actress Jane who was a "Medicine Woman")
- KLUGMAN (68A: *Actor Jack who was "Quincy")
- CLOONEY (69A: *"ER" actor George)
n.• • •
A short aria.
(Italian, diminutive of aria, aria; see aria.)
I was really hoping to find ORK or even NANU in the puzzle today, but no dice. Robin Williams did play a doctor, but not on TV (that I know of … hang on … checking …). Huh. Looks like he played "Dr. Eddy" on a recent episode of "
Wilfred," a TV show featuring a man in a DOG suit (Here's a 1:30 interview with him re: that gig, actually). Well, that was an unexpected discovery. Anyway, my point is that it's a little difficult to focus on puzzles at the moment. I can't say I was a huge fan of Robin Williams' post-1980s work, but the 1980s stuff, from "Mork & Mindy" to "Good Morning, Vietnam," was all very iconic and formative for me. It's a big, sad loss, his death. Here's a VIDEO:
The puzzle was OK. I liked the quote (though it was very easy to get and then write out in its entirety). The list of actors was … a list. Just names. Nothing exciting there. Arbitrary—7 letters? In you go! Fill on this was tilting toward the below-average side, with a lot of short dull stuff and some crosswordese (ARA, NENE) I actually hadn't seen in a long time. Absence has not made my heart grow fonder, strangely enough. But the theme is solid, in that it makes sense and has a clear rationale, and the fill is not terrible—it even has some nice-ish moments (INTRUDERS, SNOOPY, NUTELLA).
Bullets:
- 16A: Short opera piece (ARIETTA) — wasn't until I started googling this that I realized "Oh … that's gonna be just a short aria, I'll bet." And sure enough. I wonder what you call a short NENE.
- 52A: ___ close to schedule (ON OR) — is this a phrase you all use? Wanted ON OR from the second I saw the clue, but resisted it, as … well, it seems among the more awkward options for the clue. Also, ON OR is never not terrible, generally, so I will always resist it, at least a little.
- 31D: Bartender's stock (RYES) — wanted RUMS.
- 10D: U.S. equivalent to the U.K.'s Laurence Olivier Award (TONY) — pretty badly written clue. Equivalence here would be "Olivier," not "Laurence Olivier Award."
("I said 'leave,' Mr. Keating…")
Let me add that there are other things in the world making it hard to focus on puzzles. Namely this:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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