As per tradition, the eve of the annual Emmy nominations announcement brings me to my own opinionated assertion of which program represent the best that the expansively defined medium of television has to offer. As always, I must offer the … Continue reading Top Ten Television, 2017-2018 season
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. In the era of … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Parks and Recreation, “The Cones of Dunshire”
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. We recently slipped past … Continue reading Laughing Matters — George Carlin, “The American Dream”
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. Lately I’ve been reading … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Robin Williams, “Come Inside My Mind”
I occasionally write remembrances of famed individuals after they die, if the performer or writer of figure of some other note held a certain significance for me. Anthony Bourdain qualifies, mightily, and yet I’ve struggled with the idea of alchemizing … Continue reading From the Archive — My Writers: Anthony Bourdain
Sometimes in pop culture there are clear end points, and — effective or not — they can provide insights to a whole series, oeuvre, or discography. In a beautiful convergence of historical fact and playful narrative irony, the FX series … Continue reading Last Call — The Americans
Plenty of television series have hung on longer than they should have, the dictates of commerce outweighing storytelling considerations at nearly every turn in the business of doing a show. But I don’t know if any long-running program so thoroughly … Continue reading That Championship Season — How I Met Your Mother, Season Two
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. In the past several … Continue reading Laughing Matters — Muppets Tonight, “Sid Knishes and His Mosh-Pit-atoes”
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. By now, we are well past the point that television programming is a sad, forlorn cousin of … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — “You and Me and ABC”
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. In the most recent College Countdown entry, I became reacquainted with the Dead Kennedys, including some of … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Mojo Nixon for MTV
Coffee for Two 