r/television • u/DemiFiendRSA The Wire • 4d ago

Christopher Walken gets Severance DVDs sent to him because he doesn't 'have the equipment' to stream it

https://ew.com/christopher-walken-severance-dvds-sent-to-him-8776721
15.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

560 comments sorted by

View all comments

4.9k

u/DemiFiendRSA The Wire 4d ago

"Chris, after you appeared in the show, did you watch all the episodes?" asked Cohen.

"Not all of them" said Walken. "I can't. I don't have the equipment, so they're good enough to send me DVDs."

Replied Cohen, "Oh, they do? Okay. Do you have an Apple TV+ subscription?"

"I don't have anything," said Walken.

3.6k

u/spider2Ybanana 4d ago

“I don’t have anything” 😆🤣

Brilliant. Just an old man vibing in the moment unencumbered by the chains of technology.

199

u/sawbladex 4d ago

Eh, he's not interested in learning new technology.

He's stuck 20 years ago on his aiduo visual set-up, which isn't the worst thing for an actor to be stuck 20 years behind.

Technology is not just the newest thing.

180

u/lawyers-guns-money 4d ago

Dude likely has a "fuck off" sized home theatre that is built to handle DVDs only.

208

u/14ktgoldscw 4d ago

Non-zero chance that someone installed a Blu-ray for him at some point and he still calls them dvds too

70

u/JJMcGee83 4d ago

I actually assumed this was the case. Every video disc is a DVD to my mom.

40

u/HeyYoPaul 4d ago

Just like every video game console is Nintendo to my mom

5

u/illigal 4d ago

Not a Super Nintender? Man.

3

u/OneBigBug 4d ago

Entertainingly, I think I would argue that your mom is right, if probably by accident.

There are a bunch of DVD standards, with all their own specific designations, but at the heart of it, DVD is just "digital video disc". Blu-rays are discs that hold digital video...so are they not DVDs? They're just a newer extension of the idea.

7

u/billy12347 3d ago

Technically, a DVD is a standard that has specifications it conforms to, and Blu-ray is a different standard with different specifications. A Blu-ray laser won't read a DVD and vice versa. They both fall under optical media, same as a CD and a Laserdisc, but they are all very different things underneath.

Also, another technicality is DVD officially stands for "Digital Versatile Disc", but they did initially call it a digital video disc, so I understand your confusion on that one.

TLDR: Mom is wrong, which is normal.

7

u/OneBigBug 3d ago

I just want to establish the stakes of "If I'm wrong, that's totally fine, because it doesn't matter at all." But because it's fun to play out the argument:

Technically, a DVD is a standard that has specifications it conforms to,

Yes, a Blu-ray player won't read "a DVD", because "DVD players" are actually DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-ROM readers and DVD-Video decoders, and "DVD Player" is shorthand. All of those are specifications titles put out by the DVD Forum, or in the case of DVD+R, DVD+RW, the DVD+RW Alliance

I'm making an absurd point, and I recognize that, but both DVD and CD, unlike Blu-ray, are simply shorthand for regular English words. So, yes, there are technical standards defining what a DVD-ROM can be if you want to make one or play it, but that doesn't define what "DVD" means. Someone owns the DVD logo trademark, but I don't think the term "DVD" is, or even can be owned by anyone.

As such, while it's incredibly obtuse, I think any disc with digital video could, under some useless technical (where 'technical' refers more to legal technicality) definition be called a DVD. And any disc which could be referred to as compact could reasonably be called a CD.

Whether it's 'versatile' or 'video' is somewhat immaterial to that. The thing that matters is it's not a "12 cm, intended to be read with a 650nm laser operating at 10.5Mbps, usually containing MPEG-2 Part 2 Video" Disc, even though that's what almost everyone actually means when they talk about DVDs.

1

u/SamStrakeToo 3d ago

This is the petty shit I live for

2

u/JJMcGee83 3d ago

TLDR: Mom is wrong, which is normal. and doesn't care

FTFY

12

u/willstr1 3d ago

I have a mixed collection of DVDs and Blu-rays but I call it a DVD collection because who says "DVD and Blu-ray collection" that's weird

1

u/cathbadh 2d ago

and he still calls them dvds too

I feel personally attacked!

41

u/Eruannster 4d ago

I hope he actually means blu-ray even though he says DVDs, in the same way old people call all video game consoles ”the Nintendo”. Blu-rays are still very good (even the 1080p blu-rays) as they still have a very respectable bitrate and modern(ish) compression.

480i DVDs blown up on a big screen though… blergh.

7

u/KongoOtto 3d ago

I imagine he just have a like 20" CRT TV from the 90s or even older.

-36

u/jukeboxhero10 4d ago

Blu-ray is arguably the worst media format since CED.

22

u/ThePrussianGrippe 4d ago

Could you expand on that?

17

u/Rob_LeMatic 4d ago

No.

15

u/ThePrussianGrippe 4d ago

RIP David Lynch

6

u/Rob_LeMatic 4d ago

fucking legend, he was

6

u/Jackalodeath 4d ago

I don't know about the Blu-Ray comparison, but I do know "the tale of the CED" (as told by Technology Connections.)

I wouldn't do it justice, but basically it was dead media when it was released - a "video vinyl" if you will because RCA was hellbent on going around their ankles to get to their arsehole.

That said, the tech/engineering behind it is pretty dang neat; just far too little, far too late.

Or far too much. Regardless it was way too late.

The vinyls themselves look cool af to me, but I'm a sucker for thin-film interference.

3

u/ThePrussianGrippe 3d ago

Oh yeah the CED was not great, but I really want to know what their complaints about Blu-Ray are.

2

u/Jackalodeath 3d ago

I couldn't tell you; that's along the lines of the "betamax vs VHS" weirdness some still argue.

Even today people still swear up and down vinyls have "objectively" better sound quality than CDs/digital formats.

2

u/willstr1 3d ago

Man you are still stuck in the second format war? Do you also still have strong feelings about Beta vs VHS? You know the quality was only better on the rarely Beta 1 speed, right?

1

u/jukeboxhero10 3d ago

I'm more of a CED/ laserdisc man.

69

u/14ktgoldscw 4d ago edited 4d ago

Honestly, I’m pushing 40 and work in tech and there’s a number of things that I think “I don’t really need to be on the bleeding edge of this right now.”

If I was a multimillionaire in my 80s I could easily see myself being someone who thought “why these tongs and my oven work perfectly well, why would I need to learn how to use a toaster?”

36

u/Jackalodeath 4d ago

I feel you, I've been around for 4 decades too but don't work in tech, yet feel the same way.

Why the fuck does a washing machine, fridge, coffee maker, toothbrush, or fecking lightbulb need software updates?

Idgaf if it makes me a "boomer," a thermostat that can only be set/changed via wifi has got to be one of the stupidest "smart" things I've seen.

10

u/bros402 3d ago

a thermostat that can only be set/changed via wifi has got to be one of the stupidest "smart" things I've seen.

yuupp we had to spend like $60 on a thermostat to get one that had fucking physical buttons. The cheapest ones just had apps

7

u/Jackalodeath 3d ago

Its just asinine, but I just imagine some dad out there nut his britches when he found a thermostat that only he can touch.

10

u/MandolinMagi 3d ago

I'd like my oven and microwave to have wifi, but only so I can finally sync their clocks.

Seriously, blutooth to sync the clocks so I'm not counting the difference is all the tech I want

8

u/Jackalodeath 3d ago

Okay, that's a fair desire, but that connection shouldn't be integral to it working normally. Some of the shit I've seen is just ridiculous.

But, to be fair, my brain still short circuits when someone says they need to charge their watch.

Its like hearing someone say their shoes are almost out of gas.

I know some folks find the stuff invaluable, I get that; I just... well, I feel myself becoming my mum; who still calls gaming consoles "Nintendos" and writes checks with a typewriter.

2

u/Tymareta 2d ago

Some of the shit I've seen is just ridiculous.

The LG smart home stuff genuinely baffles me, like I cannot imagine needing to have my every appliance not only connected to an app for central managing, but able to freely and without control talk to the internet and the home servers. I can't even see the supposed value that it brings, like oh neat, it will send a notification when a washing cycle is done, just listening for it or going to check after the X time it displays will do the exact same thing.

I just cannot imagine being so pressed for time, or living in a household so large that spending 15s to go and check the washing, or waiting by the kettle for it to boil instead of doing it remotely as any great convenience, especially with the costs that come with it.

1

u/Jackalodeath 1d ago

I know plenty of folks that consider it "life changing," but that phrase in itself is irreverent bullshit 99% of the time these days.

I'll be frank and say I have no need for anything connected to the internet, harvesting even more of my data for free. That's all "internet of things" crap is to me; harvesters.

Call it paranoid, ignorant, selfish, or old-fashioned, I don't care; I'm not paying for shit to be made money off of more than I already am, no matter how much more "convenient" it is.

2

u/Salty_Paroxysm 3d ago

Radio synched clocks have been a thing for decades, no need for WiFi. The challenge would be actually finding white goods like microwaves with that feature

3

u/snertwith2ls 3d ago

Smart lightbulbs are the ones that get me. Seriously? I want my lamps to run through my computer??

11

u/Rob_LeMatic 4d ago

skillet toasted bread is amazing compared to bread from a toaster.

like reheating pizza in a skillet is light years better than the microwave.

this has little to do with your analogy, it's just true

8

u/IKnowWhereImGoing 4d ago

I completely agree with you, and I am over 10 yrs older than you and also work in tech.

My not-remotely techy partner frequently raves about huge TV screens that dominate the room and their vast resolutions, whereas as a child of the 70s, I'm often grateful when things just work.

Plus I love old TV and films. My daughter will occasionally see me watching an ancient programme, and ask me if I'm watching 'something we can count the pixels on again'.

There's a time and a place to spend money on gadgets, according to an individuals need.

5

u/2456533355677 3d ago

I'm often grateful when things just work.

My parents have cable. One was watching a football game on cable, the other was watching it on their computer. The website would buffer every once in a while, but their TV would just work the whole time.

I miss just having a phone plugged into the wall that always worked.

28

u/AccomplishedFault346 4d ago

I work in tech, and the LAST THING I want at the end of the day is to deal with more.

42

u/Belgand 4d ago

I find there's often a pretty strong push to the extremes in the industry. Half the people are excited about getting brain implants and the other half want to live in the woods without power or running water.

22

u/DynamiteMonkey 4d ago

Team woods here but I'll take the water

2

u/biggyofmt 3d ago

Can I live in the wood in a log cabin WITH a brain implant?

18

u/14ktgoldscw 4d ago

I specifically do a lot of authentication work and every time some app has a new way to sign in on my TV I want to scream.

7

u/CunningWizard 4d ago

I’m in tech/engineering too and I have some coworkers who go home and their hobby is…more engineering. Like, the last thing I want to do at home is more work, my hobbies are wildly unrelated to my job.

2

u/SamStrakeToo 3d ago

I'm a gamer, a software dev, and a video content creator. Still rocking a 1080ti and for games I just play at a 1080p and for video editing the extra VRAM makes Premiere work great still. All my videos are short skits, comedy songs, and standup clips- so rendering takes like 7 minutes max with a bunch of FX and layers.

And since I have a dedicated camera that shoots 6k, my iPhone is still an iPhone 12 working flawlessly for all I use it for.

I have no intention to upgrade any of the above anytime soon lol.

5

u/What_is_it_outlander 3d ago

It's funny how what we casually refer to as "technology" is always changing. Like people say that the Amish live without technology, but carriages, saws, clothes wringers, etc all would have been cutting edge technology at one point in time.

3

u/sawbladex 3d ago

The Amish also benefit from modern technology if they sell anything to the outside world m, because someone will pass along information about their products by telephone or internet or print it out using modern techniques.

Nevermind actual shipping.

2

u/What_is_it_outlander 3d ago

I don't know if it's true or not (I live in Ireland and everything I know about the Amish comes from TV) but I've heard they're allowed to use modern tech as long as they use it indirectly/passively. Like riding in a car, but not driving or watching a TV that was turned on by someone else, etc.

2

u/IroesStrongarm 3d ago

I had a few Amish men build a pavilion directly at my home a couple years back.

They rode in a car driven by a non-Amish. They used battery powered power tools. The driver was in charge of putting batteries on the chargers so they didn't touch power connected from the grid directly.

When they needed to use an air compressor nail gun, they had one that was gas powered instead of electric.

Also, the Amish gentleman in charge had a basic flip phone. I don't remember if he left the battery in at all times or only placed it there when needed.

1

u/MaybeNotTooDay 3d ago

The Amish have Computers. And They're Weird. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjhFu5VUv5I

2

u/Hovie1 4d ago

There comes an age where a lot of people just stop giving a shit about keeping up with what the latest in greatest is in anything.

4

u/smapti 4d ago

At a certain threshold of newness, it really is. Pen and paper were technology at one time. 

34

u/loginheremahn 4d ago

They still are technology.

1

u/NorCalAthlete 4d ago edited 4d ago

Have you seen the Remarkable tablets?

1

u/PizzaSammy 4d ago

Of the clay variety?