In this edition of the Roundtable we attempt to talk about the things on TV we wish had gone a bit differently.
Kerri: So, I asked you both to think about shows/characters/story-lines, etc. that didn’t work for you on television. In these cases the specific thing was such a problem that you would have wished the creators had never done it in the first place or could go back in time and correct the problem. Would anyone like to begin with one of their picks? Continue reading
When I sat down to watch the first episode of the new season of Archer with a group of friends this past week, one of my friends said “I thought you didn’t like Archer”. And while I don’t outright hate the show I tend to stay silent while the rest of the room is laughing up a storm. The claim that I don’t like the show or maybe even hate it got me thinking, what is it about Archer that makes it difficult for me to warm up to and is that my fault or is something wrong with the show? Continue reading
I watch a lot of television—by my calculations too much. This wasn’t always the case. For the majority of the last 15 years I did not own a television. That all changed two years ago when my fiancée and I bought a nice big television. We bought the television because, well, it would be a hell of a lot nicer to watch than the both of us trying to cram in front of the laptop. This is not to say that I did not watch TV for fifteen years, only most of my TV viewing was restricted to what I could rent at the video store or download or stream when it became more prevalent. “So what’s the problem?” you may ask yourselves. If the existence of this blog is any indication, we live in an era when some of the best TV shows in history are being made. I strongly believe this to be true. We also, however, live in an era when more TV shows are being made than in any time in the past. For every Girls there is a Honey Boo-Boo; every Treme a Pawn Stars. The problem becomes, not that I now own a television but rather, that I now have cable to go along with the television—and extremely shitty viewing habits. Continue reading
In this edition of the Roundtable we talk about quintessential Canadian television, what that means and if we watch.
Kerri: I thought we should start this edition of the Roundtable by talking about our picks for the most “Canadian” of Canadian TV shows. Any picks?
Katie: Hockey Night in Canada, Just for Laughs, Mr. Dressup, Degrassi
Kerri: My picks are Hockey Night in Canada, Trailer Park Boys and Degrassi.
Jane: Road to Avonlea, Twitch City, Slings and Arrows
Kerri: And the big question, of course, is why are these shows so Canadian? Continue reading
The last time I wrote about Girls I wondered and hoped that the series would prove to be more self-aware than its characters. It did. After watching season 1 (twice) I can say, cautiously, that I am a fan of these ladies. I say cautiously because I constantly go back and forth between my love and hate of the characters. Currently, I love most of them but I will get into that later. Creator, writer, director, producer and actor Lena Dunham presents her four leads in all their flawed glory. She doesn’t demand that we empathise with them and she doesn’t demand that we condemn them either. She asks that we look at them as real humans and that includes ugly moments like Marnie dumping Charlie mid-sex, Jessa seducing her ex out of spite because he was happy with someone else and Hannah’s realization that her fear of aids might actually be a secret desire to contract the disease. Continue reading
With the return of Arrested Development right around the corner and the somewhat improbable talk of Twin Peaks starting up where it left off many, many years ago we thought we would attempt to discuss shows we would like to see return to the small screen.
Kerri: Are you gals excited about the return of Arrested Development? Will you watch the new episodes?
Jane: Yes! I will be tuning in to Arrested Development for sure. I’ll admit that the prospect of Twin Peaks returning has me more excited. That could be due to the fact that I recently re-watched Twin Peaks.
Kerri: Actually, as I was thinking about this topic, I was also much more excited about the possibility of some kind of return to the Twin Peaks story. I feel like, despite Arrested Development ending “early”, it got more of a chance to do what it wanted to do. Twin Peaks ended in a way that I don’t feel many people were very satisfied with.
By Raphael Saray
Much like million dollar game shows and faux documentaries before them the en vogue TV trend is that of shows based on haggling. Trying to get a bargain or barter a deal is a skill I lack. My negotiating technique amounts to saying “C’mon!?” while trying to look sympathetic. I will gladly pay retail to avoid a haggle. I do enjoy watching people do something that I struggle with be it Cirque de Soleil or shoelace tying.
The catalyst for the hagglevision movement would have to be Pawn Stars. The unlikely History Channel hit about the dealings (and I must add wheeling, but I really don’t know what one has to do with another…) and wheelings of a sprawling Las Vegas pawn-a-torium. The stars are the least likely people you’d see on the tube. It’s a family of chubby and snippy males along with a doe eyed and even chubbier family friend. Rick Harrison owns Gold and Silver Pawn with his dad, just called the old man, his son Corey and Corey’s slacker buddy, Chumlee. The appeal is that Rick, at least, is highly intelligent. Continue reading
In this edition of the Roundtable we share some television New Year’s Resolutions with you. Happy 2013, everyone!
Katie’s Resolutions:
3. I, Walter White, will remove myself from the drug game. Otherwise, I will surely die.
2. We, the writers of Parks and Recreation, will stop using Ann Perkins as whatever plot device we require. We will either take the time to develop her properly, or use her less frequently.
1. I, Katie Man, will never again watch an episode of Mad Men on my iPhone. No matter how much I want to watch the new episode over my lunch break, I will wait until I can watch it on a proper sized screen. Gotta respect good product.
Sick of making leftover turkey sandwiches? Read some of my leftover TV favorites from 2012! A smattering of things that I haven’t had a chance to write about that I’ve loved over the past year. No lists, no numbers, just some of my favorite stuff.
Gravity Falls’ title sequence – It seems that more and more that title sequences for television shows are becoming short, efficient works of art. I can’t think of a show that has a title sequence that is quite as brilliant as the one for Gravity Falls. Every episode begins with a beautiful sequence, animated to look like a time-lapse film, that takes us through the weird and wonderful town of Gravity Falls. The title sequence smartly recalls the title sequences of Twin Peaks, The X-Files and even Northern Exposure but its frenetic pace, quirky music and in-jokes tell us exactly what we are getting ourselves into.
The Golden Age of Television 