EW‘s Darren Franich asks the big question, “Are end dates actually good for TV shows?” Since I have been obsessed with sequential narrative, like that seen in TV series, I have a keen interest in this question. I think Franich is wrong, at least for the reasons he states. His argument against setting a scheduled [...]
“Nothing but blue skies, do I see…”
The USA Network has slowly built up a reliable stable of original programming and in the process has developed an identifiable formula. This year’s summer lineup is probably the biggest it’s ever been, with new scripted dramas on four nights of the week. As the headline for this David Hiltbrand story notes: “With seven popular [...]
The swagga of young blonde white girls…
In response to the now depressing trend of young women and girls gettin’ all gangsta pop on us (previously covered here and here), Oliver Wang had this response on Facebook: I think the new Black male swag should be acting like 9 year old white girls from the Westside. Watch the videos below, in descending [...]
The Juggling of Characters and Storylines
I’ve been writing about sequential narrative for some time, since I’m fascinated by the difficulties of telling stories that slowly unspool over time. The Onion A.V. Club has a new interview with the great character actor Stephen Tobolowsky, in which he talks about some of his experiences of working in television. He perfectly describes the [...]
Days of Wine and Roses (Part 2)
In my last post, I wrote about how much I admired Amy Winehouse as an artist. I think it’s an empirical matter that she was gifted. Beyond that, it gets more problematic. I never met Winehouse; I cannot claim to know her. One reads anecdotes (like this one from ?uestlove) and gets an impression beyond [...]