You know what really, really gets my goat, I mean, what really, really perturbs me? It's declaring that something is “live” when it's not. If I see that little “live” marker on my television screen I expect that I'm seeing… Read More ›
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The Burn Notice Blahs
For some reason (quite possibly the tides), I am quite down on last night's Burn Notice. I still really like the characters and think the stories are interesting, but last night made the whole thing feel very formulaic, and not… Read More ›
The Berenstain Bears Return to DVD
Though it may be hard to believe, The Berenstain Bears have been around for more than forty years and are still going strong. August 12 will mark the release of the twelfth volume of episodes from the PBS kids series… Read More ›
Eureka Places Products Precisely
It is said that viewers these days are more savvy than they used to be, that advertising has changed to accommodate today's viewers. I don't know that viewers are more savvy, but advertising does continue to change, sometimes in very… Read More ›
Here’s Hoping Nicole is not The Mole
The recently resurrected (though probably only for one season) ABC series The Mole is down to the final three contestants. Last night they performed their final missions and next week we'll discuss who the mole actually is. The big problem? … Read More ›
Expanding my Who-niverse
As we've discussed on several occasions over the past two months, there's really very little new stuff on TV right now. It's led me to having a hole in my schedule, and I've filled it in the most wonderful way… Read More ›
Dragons’ Den’s Split Personality
I know that I tend to go all out with good or bad, but last night's Dragons' Den was certainly somewhere in the middle. They still had the whole problem with over-announcing going on, but the animosity between the dragons… Read More ›
Looking for a Takeaway Message from Baby Borrowers
Listen, if you read this column you know that we discuss (I like to think of this as a discussion and not a diatribe) what happens in TV shows. You might refer to some of the things we talk about… Read More ›
My War, Your War, Foyle’s War – Set Five
When the fourth series of Foyle's War finished, our hero, DCS Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) was headed off into the sunset. He had, following a political brouhaha, retired from his position. But, a successful TV series never does let a… Read More ›
Sometimes TV Shows Fail to "Fix it in Post"
Last night on Top Gear (that's right, it's another Top Gear article, you know you love Top Gear, I talk about it on a regular basis and I'm sure you've caught the fever by now) Jeremy Clarkson drove a Rolls… Read More ›
The Coming of the Olympics and the End of Summer TV
In a little less than two weeks, the Olympics start… and I'm already depressed. No, really, the Olympics depress me. I admire what these people do; they are, without a doubt, some of the best athletes in the whole world…. Read More ›
Burn Notice Lights my Fire
Last week, as you may recall, I promised to discuss Burn Notice this week. Well, I didn't so much promise that I'd discuss it so much as I stated that it was a definite possibility, that it was something that… Read More ›
Is it True? Can the Baby Borrowers be Taught?
I sit here today in stunned silence (thank goodness I'm typing this column instead of dictating). Did some of the teens on Baby Borrowers last night actually show some sort of growth? Has the entire experience actually taught them something?… Read More ›
It Looks as Though it is a Bleak Doomsday
What is it about the post-apocalyptic world that filmmakers like so much? Is it the fact that the side of law and order is allowed to inflict far more punishment on the villains without fear of crossing the line? Is… Read More ›
Lies and the Lying Reality Show Contestants who Tell Them
I don't quite know why, but I'm constantly amazed at the insanity of reality show contestants. I particularly enjoy moments on reality shows where a contestant speaks one-on-one to the camera about something that happened previously, and the show instantly… Read More ›
The Show Certainly Has at Least One Saving Grace
Crime procedurals on television seem to have reached a point where nothing can be done routinely anymore. One cannot just have a show where someone solves crimes; the detective has to be obsessive-compulsive, pretend to be a psychic, be a… Read More ›
Finding Out Exactly What it Means to be an American Zombie
Zombies are people too. Such is the message, sort of, given by director Grace Lee's American Zombie. Though it is wholly fictional, the movie is made in documentary style and purports to explore the lives of some average living dead-types… Read More ›
A Lot About Dragons’ Den and a Touch of Burn Notice
Last week, as you may or may not recall, I wrote that I was all excited about the BBC America show Dragons' Den. Last night, I was less excited. I'm not going to say “far less excited,” just less excited…. Read More ›
Baby Borrowers Fails to Excite
Did you watch Baby Borrowers last night? Well, I did. I have to say, I'm completely underwhelmed. I wish I wasn't, but I am. I expected more. I expected… I don't know what, but certainly more than what we're getting…. Read More ›
Are Top Gear and I Having Our First Tiff?
I don’t know how to tell you this. It actually physically pains me to write what I have to now write. Seriously, my fingers are cramping, my stomach is in knots, and my vision is going a little blurry. There… Read More ›