Season 4, Episode 6
Problems with earning
that feminist badge
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
SNL - "Ben Stiller/Foster The People"
Season 37, Episode 3
A surprising good episode for the third one in a row
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Fringe - "Alone in the World"
Season 4, Episode 3
An episode that
reminds you of the importance of cleaning your bathroom regularly
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Office - "Lotto"
Season 8, Episode 3
When the focus
moves away from Andy, he somehow becomes stronger
Parks and Rec - "Born and Raised"
Season 4, Episode 3
Is this an
episode, or a twenty minute commercial for a book?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Glee - "Asian F"
Season 3, Episode 3
I’m loathe to
admit it, but I think the show might be turning around
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
SNL - "Melissa McCarthy/Lady Antebellum"
Season 37, Episode 2
Hey everybody, let’s
watch fatty make a funny!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Archer - "Heart of Archness, Part 3"
Season 3, Episode 3
How funny does an
episode have to be in order to be satisfying?
Happy Endings - "Blax, Snake, Home"
Season 2, Episode
1
A strong premiere
that could still stand to shed a few things
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Terra Nova - "Genesis"
Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2
“Together, we’re at the dawn of
a new civilization. No pressure.”
-Taylor
I’m not going to pretend that I went into Terra Nova with the highest of hopes. As
a sci-fi series on FOX that’s produced by Steven Spielberg, I knew more or less
what I was getting into, and it wasn’t going to be The Next Great Sci-Fi
Series, for sure. Then why did I jump in to a series that I knew might not be
that good, as well as commit myself to writing about the thirteen-episode first
season?
Because dinosaurs are fucking awesome. The only problem
is that the show knows it all too well, and it feels like that’s the reason the
show doesn’t work as well as it should.
How I Met Your Mother - "The Ducky Tie"
Season 7, Episode 3
One of those
episodes that makes you stick around
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
SNL - "Alec Baldwin/Radiohead"
Season 37, Episode 1
A wide gulf in the
quality of sketches makes for a disorienting return
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Modern Family - "Dude Ranch"/"When Good Kids Go Bad"
Season 3, Episode 1-2
And the Emmy for
least improved comedy goes to….
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Review: FOX's New Girl
Or Getting Beyond "Adorkable"
New
Girl premieres tonight at 9/8c on FOX. As such, the following review is
spoiler-free, and can be read without worry.
How I Met Your Mother: "The Best Man"/"The Naked Truth"
Season 7, Episodes 1 & 2
Clearly we’re just
padding out time here
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The 2011 Emmy Awards
It’s that time once again boys and girls, time to turn on
the television only to realize that most people don’t actually watch
television. That’s right…it’s the Emmy Awards! Like just about every Emmy
awards past, it was an opportunity for the people in Hollywood to feel good
about themselves, and for telephiles on their couch to just scratch their head
whilst simultaneously beating it against the wall. Click through to see my breakdown
of the winners, and click here to look at my Emmy predictions. Cross compare
for even more fun!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Doctor Who - "The God Complex"
Season 6, Episode 11
We’ve all been
down this road at least once before
Thursday, September 15, 2011
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank's Pretty Woman"
Season 7, Episode
1
Introducing Mac’s
funny, funny fat
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Doctor Who: "The Girl That Waited"
Season 6, Episode 10
A strong
standalone episode highlights all of the Moffat era strengths
Friday, September 9, 2011
Wilfred: "Identity"
Season 1, Episode 13
A fantastically
dark finale shows what the show is truly capable of
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Futurama: "Reincarnation"
Season 6, Episode
26
A high note to
send the season off – and it didn’t even have a real plot
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Fall TV Season Predictions
With tonight’s season premiere of Sons of Anarchy, the traditional television season officially kicks
off, and even though it will be a few more weeks become the networks catch up,
now seems like a good time to lay out some of my predictions for the upcoming
fall session of television. Looking over the television landscape of both new
and returning shows, it is hard not to notice trends among the shows, trends
that will invariably be part of the conversation on this blog and quite
possibly attain notice from other critics as well. Though there is always room
for surprises, the following predications are based on a mixture of historical
evidence and intuition, and it seems likely that they will be some of the
biggest issues critics deal with over the next several months.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fall 2011 Review Schedule
September’s almost here, and that boys and girls means that it’s time once again to roll out the next sector of my review schedule, this time for the fall half of the upcoming “traditional” 2011-2012 TV season.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File #13: Family Guy
Some people use their time before a big break to evolve their craft. Not Seth McFarlane.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Breaking Bad: "Bullet Points"
Season 4, Episode 4
Another character-focused episode brings the season’s path into question
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File #11: Veronica Mars
Rob Thomas’ last ditch effort to save his show amounted to nothing. It was probably for the best.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Falling Skies: "What Hides Beneath"
Season 1, Episode 8
The calm before the storm could use a little more spark
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Futurama: "All the Presidents' Heads"
Season 6, Episode 20
Finely, an episode with a decent sense of plotting
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File # 10: The Dresden Files
When a pilot gets reordered, the entire series gets thrown off kilter
Monday, July 25, 2011
Breaking Bad: "Thirty-Eight Snub"
Season 4, Episode 2
Another episode thrills using very little plot development
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File #9: Arrested Development
Mitchell Hurwitz decided to make an extended cut of the pilot after the series got picked up. Why, exactly?
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Falling Skies: "Sanctuary, Part 1"
Season 1, Episode 6
The “children are in danger” trope finally backfires
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
2011 Emmy Nominations Breakdown
Another year, another slew of disappointments. That’s usually how it goes, right? While this year is not as egregious as some of the errors of years past, but as Myles McNutt points out, there’s always some disappointment to go along. Among the positive aspects, FX finally picked up some nods for a show other than Damages, with 2 nods for Louie and 3 nods for Justified. (Sadly, there’s nothing for Sons of Anarchy.) As for what got snubbed…well’s that a much bigger pile. (Seriously, you’re going to get sick of me talking about how much Community and Terriers got snubbed this year.)
For each category, I will offer my suggestions for who I think should have been nominated instead (as well as who they should replace), as well as who I think should and will win from the list of nominees. As need, I will also throw in a little analysis of the nominee list as a whole.
Please note that since I have not seen enough of them, I am forgoing the various Movie+Miniseries categories, and because I’m not a fan, I’m similarly skipping all talk of reality/competition/non-fiction categories. You can find a full list here.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File #8: Heat Vision and Jack
When a failed pilot becomes famous, do we lose the ability to evaluate seriously?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Traditional Audience Perceptions and the Failure of Open Letters
Or why cancelling Men of a Certain Age is harmful to television as a whole
Yesterday during my daily stroll through my the usual websites, I came across two open letters – one from Alan Sepinwall, the other from Mo Ryan – both extolling the virtues of Men of a Certain Age and reasoning/pleading with TNT to give the show a third season, and another chance to gain a substantial audience. As a fan of the show, my heart leapt while reading these two well-formed, intellectual, and heart-felt pleas for a fantastic show that for various reasons has never had a chance to connect with people. Though I finished these letters filled with a sense of elation, soon cold logic began to set in. I have seen this tactic used with shows in the past – most notably Terriers last fall – and never to my recollection have open letters saved a show. (Subway sandwiches and bags of peanuts are another story.)
This is not to say that the critics stumping for the shows are doing anything wrong, or that they are wasting their time trying to rope in new viewers through something other than advertising. As a fellow TV lover, I understand the compulsion to do whatever it takes to save a flailing show, and I respect these critics for taking these steps for a show that deserves it. This, then, is not a piece meant to decry those critics for their work. Rather, it is the failure of these open letters to make an impact, and the nature of the shows that tend to have such letters written, that reveal important trends in the viewing habits of the Average Viewer, the understanding of which is key to Men’s renewal.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Men of a Certain Age: "Hold Your Finish"
Season 2, Episode 12
The show’s happiest and most depressing moments, all in one hour
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Failed Pilot Project Case File # 7: Nobody's Watching
How a TV love letter gained prominence on the internet
Friday, July 1, 2011
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