Author Archives

Josh Lasser is a freelance entertainment reporter/critic. His work has appeared in print, online, and perhaps one day in book form.

• Grand Slam Tennis – It’s Kind of Like a Weak Forehand Shot

  By Josh Lasser on August 11, 2009 • ( 2 )

  EA Sports is the preeminent creator of sports game titles. Their roster of franchises includes, among other things, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Fight Night, NHL, Madden, FIFA Soccer, and NBA Live. Why wouldn't they try to add a tennis game… Read More ›

• Tapping the Glass on the Shark Tank

  By Josh Lasser on August 10, 2009 • ( 3 )

  Last night, ABC premiered its first show of the new season.  I'm not entirely sure I'd call it the new season yet with it only being the second week in August, but it sort of is and I'm not terribly… Read More ›

• Monk & Psych Begin New Seasons

  By Josh Lasser on August 7, 2009 • ( 2 )

  Cable networks, USA in particular, have done a great job attracting viewers to summer programming. Year after year, people know that come July or come August some of their favorite shows will be returning. Perhaps two of the most highly… Read More ›

• Listening to The Soloist

  By Josh Lasser on August 6, 2009 • ( 0 )

  Sometimes a movie is just a movie, and that's just fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a movie being a simple tale with interesting characters. However, a problem can quickly develop when the movie in question does everything it can… Read More ›

• Is Hell’s Kitchen’s Fire Dimming?

  By Josh Lasser on August 5, 2009 • ( 1 )

  I am disappointed with Hell's Kitchen this season, just all around disappointed. Normally with the show, in a bad season, I'm disappointed with the contestants, but this season goes way, way beyond that, even if the contestants really are more… Read More ›

• Everything I Needed to Know About Parenting I Learned from Television

  By Josh Lasser on August 4, 2009 • ( 0 )

  As someone who has worked from home watching a young child, I understand the need for forgiveness, the desire to let bygones be bygones, and the need to start each day fresh.  Some days the parent fails and some days… Read More ›

• Entering a Race to Witch Mountain

  By Josh Lasser on August 3, 2009 • ( 1 )

  One of the true tests of greatness for a movie mainly geared for a younger audience  (as I'm sure I've said before) is its ability to be enjoyed by more than just said audience, for it to find a wider… Read More ›

• The Tigger Movie Bounces its Way to DVD

  By Josh Lasser on July 31, 2009 • ( 0 )

  The wonderful thing about Tiggers (Tiggers are wonderful things) are numerable.  They range from Tiggers' tops being made out of rubber to their bottoms being made out of springs, from their being bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy to their being fun,… Read More ›

• It’s 11:35pm – Conan or Letterman?

  By Josh Lasser on July 30, 2009 • ( 0 )

  I have been, and I think always will be, a fan of Conan O'Brien.  When it was announced that Coney would be taking over The Tonight Show, to me, it sounded just about perfect.  In a debate between Leno and… Read More ›

• Calling Out The Waterboy

  By Josh Lasser on July 29, 2009 • ( 0 )

  Sometimes looking at a new release slate for Blu-rays, one gets the distinct impression that all the good movies have already arrived in the high definition format. I can't believe that's the case — most people can probably tick off… Read More ›

• Discovering The Secret Life of the American Teenager

  By Josh Lasser on July 28, 2009 • ( 0 )

  Every Monday night – when there's a new episode – I sit down to watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager.  Don't ask me why, the reasons are too complicated to explore.  I don't mind telling you however that… Read More ›

• Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead – Special, but Special Enough?

  By Josh Lasser on July 24, 2009 • ( 0 )

  BBC America, in continuing its big week of sci-fi to help usher in their brand new HD feed, will be premiering the next Doctor Who special, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, this Sunday night at 8:00pm.  The second of… Read More ›

• The Good and Bad of Being Human

  By Josh Lasser on July 23, 2009 • ( 0 )

  You've got your vampires, your werewolves, and your ghosts, and never the thrain shall meet… or something like that. Okay, so sometimes vampires meet werewolves, but ghosts rarely wind up involved in those mash-ups. But now, fans of all three… Read More ›

• A Distinct Lack of Fire on Hell’s Kitchen?

  By Josh Lasser on July 22, 2009 • ( 0 )

  Sometimes I'm not quite sure how to approach an issue.  Take today's column for example.  There was absolutely no doubt in my mind heading into last night's Hell's Kitchen premiere that the column would be about it, that was set,… Read More ›

• Summer and the Time Lord

  By Josh Lasser on July 21, 2009 • ( 0 )

  There is this thing out there called “summer television.”  Every year, broadcast networks treat their audiences to burn-offs of shows that failed be they good or bad (see Pushing Daisies, which was certainly the former) and billions and billions of… Read More ›

• Torchwood: Children of Earth has Arrived

  By Josh Lasser on July 20, 2009 • ( 0 )

  There is a big danger in taking an already short television season and turning it into a single multi-episode storyarc.  If the story isn't successful – if it isn't compelling, if the character arcs aren't interesting, if anything falls out… Read More ›

• Chasing After the Midnight Express

  By Josh Lasser on July 17, 2009 • ( 2 )

  It is often said that the punishment should fit the crime. As a concept, that makes total and complete sense. The realities of the statement however don't always quite match up. One person's idea of the correct punishment for a… Read More ›

• And Knowing is Half the Battle: G.I. Joe Hits DVD

  By Josh Lasser on July 16, 2009 • ( 0 )

  Ah, the fabulous, freewheeling 1980s, a time when nothing was off limits, a time when a company could take a decades old toy and give it new life by creating a cartoon to promote the toy.  Throw in a few… Read More ›

• Spying on The Echelon Conspiracy

  By Josh Lasser on July 15, 2009 • ( 1 )

  Sometimes watching a film one has to wonder how exactly the producers got so many name actors to be in such a bad movie.  Coming soon to Blu-ray (after an incredibly short stint in the theaters) is The Echelon Conspiracy,… Read More ›

• Is Raising the Bar Raising its Game?

  By Josh Lasser on July 14, 2009 • ( 1 )

  Every week this season that I've turned on Raising the Bar – and that's been all of them – I've wondered why I didn't like the show anywhere near as much last season.  Last year, I watched several episodes of… Read More ›