March 2010
2 posts
January 2010
4 posts
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“…no critic was prepared for “West Wing” alum Bradley Whitford to turn up...”
– More on Bradley Whitford and ‘Stache-gate | Alan Sepinwall on TV
December 2009
3 posts
“Now, the thing that has been exalted and the thing that American entertainment...”
– DAVID SIMON - Vice Magazine
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Twitter / Jay Bushman: @bronwensaurus and I have ... →
November 2009
37 posts
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Dear AMC
I’m through 5 out of 6 episodes of your remake of the Prisoner. Still formulating my thoughts on it, but I have one question:
What on Earth possessed you to show it 2 at a time over 3 consecutive nights? Who’s got time to devote that much attention over such a short span? It definitely diminishes the viewing experience. I’d have much rather had 6 consecutive weeks.
Or do...
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From the annals of unconvincing world-building
V:
I wince every time I hear the Visitors called “Vees.” The V spray paint logo is a resistance sign. And “Visitors” is already a euphemism - no need to shorten it to the awkward-sounding “Vees.”
And Fifth Column is a reference to the Spanish Civil War. In the original, the rebel Visitors were initially described by Martin a “a Fifth Column”...
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West Wing Creator Aaron Sorkin to Return to TV →
Cue the Hallelujah chorus!
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“You were abducted, of course you need crepes.”
– Walter, in Fringe s2e07. This kind of stuff is why I keep watching this show.
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Pilot Watch/Flup: Wackiness Doth Ensue & We're...
To follow-up on my earlier post about David Tennant starring in NBC’s awful sounding pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, I would like to point out that Jeffrey Tambor has joined the cast. Per THR, Tambor will play “Rex’s psychiatrist, a specialist in anxiety disorders who himself suffers from them and who also becomes romantically involved with Rex’s mother.” Two bucks on...
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PSA: AMC HD Available Early on TWC in Our Hood
We subscribe to Time Warner Cable. A couple of weeks ago we received a letter stating that we’d finally get AMC in HD mid-December. Jay’s comment at the time was, “Great. Just in time for me to not be watching Mad Men.” Kid’s got a point there, Valerie.
AMC’s re-Prisonering starts Sunday. I started scrolling through channels to see if by chance AMC HD happened...
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Sayonara, Dollhouse
(Note: This post is a little late, since I’m mired in the grips of #DeathKold09. Any incoherence is strictly the provenance of the virus taking residence in my sinuses. Sincerely, the Mgmt.)
OK, a little backstory here. I was ignorant of the Whedon-verse before Bronwen introduced me to it. One of my labours when I went a-courting was to watch all seven seasons of Buffy, plus season five...
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“These are those four outlines submitted by Universal for an hour series. You...”
– from Network written by Paddy Chayefsky. To answer to why the Gattaca series will be a cop show.
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Pilot Watch: Will Gattaca Miss the Point?
There was this ridiculously long article about Denis Leary’s post-Rescue Me plans in Variety two weeks ago. Buried down at the bottom was word that Leary’s production company has the rights to redevelop Gattaca as a TV series.
(Side rant: Did you miss that news? Don’t feel badly! Variety can’t spell. Apparently they missed that whole obvs part of the movie where the title...
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“I hate when TV shows have couples argue for contrived reasons just because the...”
– What’s Alan Watching?: Friday Night Lights, “In the Skin of a Lion”: Open eyes, full slate, can’t sleep
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“Boy, that Under Armour sure is a generous sporting goods company. I’m...”
– Bronwen, while watching Friday Night Lights, s4e03
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Nielsen Massages Data to Bulwark Its Fading...
This chart provided by Nielsen to The Hollywood Reporter (and then charmingly hotlinked to by me) “proves” that household television viewing hours are on the rise.
Man, if we didn’t have Nielsen, I just don’t know how we’d know anything about the viewing habits of 25,000 very carefully selected Americans.
Via The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed.
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Jason Segel Hair Terror Watch
How I Met Your Mother, “The Rough Patch”
Longtime listeners to my ranting will know that I am continuously fascinated by Jason Segel’s hair formations on How I Met Your Mother. Segel appears to be blessed with naturally curly hair, but he seems to be unaware of how to take care of his hair. He tends to let it grow kind of long and unruly, and then uses way too much gel to smush...
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Exercise TV: The Shield
My building has a gym. That’s not new. I’ve ignored building gyms for years. But this is a gym with a difference. The treadmills have individual TVs. Again, not unique. But there’s one extra thing about these treadmill TVs - you can attach an iphone to them and route your own video to the screen. This is how I convince myself to exercise in the mornings.
A couple of...
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Peggy vs. Pete
Something that been on my mind for the last few episodes of Mad Men this season: what is the difference between Peggy’s need for validation and respect, and Pete’s need for the same?
In every article I’ve read and every discussion I’ve had, Peggy has been portrayed in a much more favorable light that Pete, and yet haven’t they each been asking for the same...
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Pilot Watch: We Do Not Want to See David Tennant...
David Tennant has, of course, left his role as the fucking awesome Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who to move onto brighter pastures, avoid typecasting, and to “bow out when it’s still fun.” Ok, sure. He won’t actually find a better part, but whatevs, I’ll go with his logic.
No matter what, an NBC pilot is not a brighter pasture. It was announced last week that Tennant will...
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Mad Men S3 Finale
Previously on this Sunday, Bronwen quizzed me while I was on my way out the door as to what my predictions for tonight’s Mad Men finale would be. How’d I do? Find out after the spoiler-protective jump.
I say I was 100% right. Betty demanded a divorce from Don and retained custody of the kids. Bronwen argues for a literalist reading of “Betty leaves Don and takes the...
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Jay Predicts the Future: The Mad Men S3 Finale
Tonight on television we have the season finales of Mad Men and Bored to Death. Obvs, Jay is headed out for a pizza and ice cream run.
But before he heads out the door, I’m making Jay give us his prediction for what happens on tonight’s Mad Men.
Jay says, “I think Betty’s going to leave Don. And take the kids. And Pete Campbell’s going to be surprisingly perceptive...
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How Defying Gravity would have progressed,... →
Thank you, Keith McDuffee, for asking the questions. And thank you, James Parriott for answering them. Clink the link to find all about Bearded Nadia, Autistic Wass, and how Rollie and Eve were gonna end up on Mars.
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TV We Missed the First Time: Once and Again
I watched the first five episodes of Once and Again last week on a plane. I didn’t actually want the plane ride to stop. I’m now halfway through the first season, and I’m completely hooked on this show.
Once and Again premiered in 1999 - or during my first stab at college, which explains why I missed it. The team behind the series included Winnie Holzman, Marshall Herskovitz and...
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“I hate that we’re in a procedural cop show. And you want to know why....”
– Dean Winchester agreeing with Bronwen, in Supernatural s5e08.
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“Procedurals are the work of people who hate America.”
– Bronwen, professing a mild preference.
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“Jurnee Smollett and Landry? Oh, BRING IT!”
– Bronwen, while watching Friday Night Lights, s4e02.
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WatchGreatest Moments in Television History Ever, OK?
What is it like to work in television? It’s a lot like this clip! In the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot, Steven Weber’s character just needs to see some tape. And the people who work in television try to put a digibeta (that’s a standard definition broadcast quality tape, people) into a VCR.
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WatchFor November, my icon will be the face of Maddux Donner, Ron Livingston’s character on Defying Gravity, or as it is more properly known, Sexy Astronauts. I’m willing to wager that this Halloween, I was the only person who dressed up as Maddux Donner.
Sexy Astronauts is stuck in limbo, with ABC having aired only 8 of its 13 episodes. Canada got the whole run - even if the last 4 were...
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“Major Zod is kind of a mush-mouth, isn’t he?”
– Me, while being forced to watch Smallville
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TV We Missed the First Time: New Amsterdam s01e07
I’ve been watching the first (and only) season of New Amsterdam, mostly because Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is currently shooting the pilot for the Most Eagerly Anticipated Show Evar (more on MEASE later). The show is eh. Some interesting ideas. Not shocking it was cancelled. Waldau looks kinda like a cross between Denis Leary and Alexander Skaarsgard.
But this episode is a guest star festival...
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We Watch TV, and So Should You.
The word “moist” grosses me, and anyone else in possession of ears, out. The phrase “it’s your loss” rankles me given that if I fucking gave a shit, I would have, y’know, given a shit. However, no phrase irritates and/or offends me more than “I don’t watch television.” The fuck.
Jay and I are together because of television. We were casual...