I feel asleep at the switch and never even noticed that this blog hit the five-year mark two weeks ago. Celebrate we must, even if belatedly. I point you to my first post, which references my only piece of legitimate cred: once getting linked by Romenesko. In five years, this blog has never gotten close [...]
Droppin’ Beats, Over and Over
As is my wont, I’ll try to make a point, circling around it repeatedly, unable to just kill the thing. And thus it is, again, that I have to once again revisit my point on movement and progression in television storytelling in order to make a point I forgot to make. This review of a [...]
Jogging in Place
Here are my biases about television programs. I like TV shows about something. Anything. Even Seinfeld – famously, a show about nothing – actually was about something: Modern alienation, the annoyances of those around us, the selfishness of humanity. Everybody Loves Raymond has things to say about dysfunctional family dynamics. I have previously written about [...]
Serialized TV v. Non-Serialized TV
Thanks to Mo Ryan, we have some comments from J.J. Abrams at Comic-Con about the issue I discussed previously: “I’m just less personally interested, naturally interested in non-serialized shows,” Abrams said. “I enjoy the investment and the anticipation and the characters and what’s going to happen… To me that’s the thing that always grabs you. [...]
“Misty watercolor memories…”
Following up in my last post on dramatic conflict… I’ve said this before; I’m saying it again. One of my frustration with older modes of visual storytelling was the constant amnesia. Long ago, television series (and comic books) always told standalone stories. And that’s okay. Lost and Fringe told big long stories. The Sopranos and [...]
All Drama Is Conflict
Drama is about conflict. Right? “Would you like a story about two people who always get along and everything in their life is great?” Uh, no. How you execute conflict is the variable. I could do a cop show about police in conflict with criminals. And all the police officers are terrific people. But I [...]
“Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman…”
Y’know, this blog is not a bulk-oriented outlet, in terms of content. Never has been. Some of that’s procrastination, some of it’s due to limited time, but some of it comes from not having something original to say about events. So, it’s unusual for me to weigh in on something that everybody’s already talking about. [...]
Ain’t Nothing New About Miley Cyrus
This article in yesterday’s NY Times caught my eye, since it’s about young fans of Miley Cyrus possibly being turned off by her new adult moves. It didn’t resonate with me because I’m a Miley hater (that said, I don’t care for her, personally or artistically) or because I disapprove of her acting beyond her [...]
Food Truck Wars on Wilshire
Long-time readers of this blog know that I continue to maintain a keen interest in the culture of Los Angeles, since I am a former Angeleno. Being a bit of a foodie, I have also followed the growth of the food truck phenomenon in recent years, with such business offering better food and promoting their [...]