I’m actually not a big fan of cooking shows… I do have fond memories of Julia Child appearing on Letterman and throwing eggs at Bill Murray, but other than that, my reaction to such shows has generally wavered between apathy and severe annoyance (I particularly hate shows that encourage the use of obscure or heinously […]
I was all set to trot out Futurama as another example of a quality show Fox killed… but apparently it’s been decided to pick it up again for a new run (the details are still sketchy, so I’m not sure whether it’s Comedy Central or Fox, and whether it’s a direct-to-DVD thing). Nonetheless, Futurama certainly deserved another […]
In graduate school, there was one professor who would occasionally make leading references to science fiction characters and topics, inviting responses from the class. I (or my fellow-nerd Adam) would inevitably respond, fleshing out the partial reference, after which the professor would deftly pivot and claim “Of course, I don’t know anything about those sorts […]
Newsradio is one of the best office comedies to come along in recent memory and actually surpassed the classic TV show that probably inspired its creation (WKRP in Cincinnati). A talented, balanced cast and great writing characterize the first four seasons. NBC’s scheduling stupidity and the shocking real-life murder of Phil Hartman (Bill McNeal) killed the […]
If he did, Fox wouldn’t have canned his show after only 19 episodes. They’re re-running them on HDNet, so you have a second chance to appreciate the show. The show’s main device is a series of short mental visualizations (Richter is a frustrated writer working as an office drone whose fantasies serve as commentary and escape from […]
[Note that I haven’t updated this in quite a while because I discovered iWeb was only allowing full, rather than incremental, updates to sites. Given the massive size of the streaming videos on my site, this often meant 30 minute uploads for any update. I’m hoping the iWeb upgrade has fixed this or I might […]
Some people hate Fox because of their politics. I hate them for killing great shows. Although this may actually be premature, all signs point to Fox canceling one of the sharpest, most fully-realized comedies ever: Arrested Development. My one hope is that DVD sales or maybe rescue by another network/online distribution can allow the show to return, […]
It’s unsurprising to those of you who know me that the first of these entries should be the new Battlestar Galactica. Not just for its writing or its special effects, both of which are arguably the best in any science fiction series, but also because the show’s producers seem to understand and embrace new and interesting communication tech […]