These posts are about great acting performances sustained across the full run of a television series. When Dr. Frasier Crane first bellied up to a certain Boston, below-ground bar, there was no inkling that the character would be a fixture … Continue reading The Long Haul — Kelsey Grammer in Cheers and Frasier
If the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences can go ahead and pretend they can proceed with the usual glad-handling and self-congratulation of an awards season, I guess I can keep up my corresponding tradition. Tradition holds that the … Continue reading Top Ten Television, 2019-2020 season
For my eleventh birthday, all I wanted was a Carl Reiner movie. A little more than a year after the release of The Jerk, Reiner’s sixth film as a director and his first of four straight starring Steve Martin, the … Continue reading Carl Reiner, 1922-2020
Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. The official announcement of … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Meet The CONAN Staff: Conor Oberst – Production Assistant
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. When the first show to bear … Continue reading Golden Words — The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Support Your Local Mother”
Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. As good and proper … Continue reading Laughing Matters — John Mulaney, “There’s a Horse Loose in the Hospital”
For some, the following statement is sacrilege: I’m grateful Freaks and Geeks only lasted one season. The brainchild of Paul Feig and arguably the true starting point of Judd Apatow’s ascendency to brand dominance as a producer of comedies, Freaks … Continue reading That Championship Season — Freaks and Geeks, Season One
America Punished Elizabeth Warren for Her Competence by Megan Garber Given the harsh realities of the political landscape, Elizabeth Warren’s withdrawal from the presidential race was the right choice and the right time. But it still stings, and Megan Garber, … Continue reading Outside Reading — You’re Better Than All These Fuckers edition
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. Ahead of its debut season, 30 … Continue reading Golden Words — 30 Rock, “Cooter”
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Now that Better Call Saul has an officially announced endpoint, it’s the appropriate time to start campaigning … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Ethics Training with Kim Wexler
Coffee for Two 