By this point you’ve seen the finale of Breaking Bad. Maybe you’ve watched it twice. By this point you’ve read everything about it too and have had a full week to process it. We’ve already done a piece on the last episode. By this point the people who love the finale have made their love known and people who didn’t like it so much have done the same. Everything has been said that needs to be said and said well. You are probably exhausted from all of this Breaking Bad content. But how ’bout one more kick at the giant barrel full of cash for old times sake?
Email Roundtable #31 – Fall Television Secret Santa
This week, and for a number of the weeks to follow, we will be doing Fall Television Secret Santa. We each “randomly” chose a name and were given the job of gifting a television show to that person. This week we will be discussing the person we drew, the show we chose for them and why. In the coming weeks we will be pairing down our roundtable to two and interviewing our Secret Santa about the show they were gifted (or forced) to watch. The rules state that you may watch as much or as little of the show as you like and that the gift giver must have seen at least a portion of the show as well.
Best Cooking Show Ever.
The blog rotation has fallen on me this week and, as fate should have it, Breaking Bad wrapped. I was going to pontificate about my latest passion which has become mid-nineties Australian sitcoms – but the timing isn’t proper. The fine folks at AMC decided to thumb its nose at the Netflix enthusiasts and DVD buyers of world. They put one of their franchise shows, Breaking Bad, on in marathon form in a build up to this season. Friday nights were marathon sessions. I missed it during the first run and was very miffed when Bryan Cranston would beat out Don Draper at the Emmys. To me, Cranston will always be Malcolm’s dad. I hated Malcolm in the Middle. He was Tim Whatley, Jerry Seinfeld’s lecherous dentist. I knew him on the pilot episode of the Pam Anderson action series VIP -but his work as meth master Walter White must be celebrated. As he moved from sheepish milquetoast to evil drug lord, he turned into having the traits of a great wrestling champion. He started off as a good guy, with tag team partners like Hank and his wife. He had a protégé to mentor and bail him out in Jesse. Then he got a manager, in lawyer Saul. He battled in feuds with the likes of contenders to his meth title with the likes of Tuco, the grizzled Mike, and Gus. Like the great wrestler he became a villain. The bad guy. He turned on his wife, Hank, and his son. He put on his literal black hat with greed and power taking over for family loyalty. And in ultimate wrestling fashion, left to go to do movies. Continue reading
Email Roundtable #30 – Happy Anniversary Edition
This week marks the 1st Anniversary of The Golden Age of Television blog. We thought we would take a look back at the past year of blogging and look into the future as well.
Continue reading
My Stories are Back!
Happy September everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the last warm glows of sunshine before the Canadian winter slips its cold fingers into your fleece onesie. September is a great month, no? It is the time for buckling down, falling into routines and squirreling away all those happy memories of summer. Also, it just happens to be the month where, one by one, old and new shows return to our TVs and PVRs. Now, while the promise of brand-spankin’ new TV has never did it for me, the return of my stories does warm the cockles of heart. So, in the spirit of the season, here are three short reviews of some of my favourite returning programs. Continue reading
Email Roundtable #29 – John From Cincinnati
This week on the roundtable we continue with our Summer Television Secret Santa. Jane gifted the short-lived HBO show, John From Cincinnati, to Kerri. Below is their conversation about the show.
Jane: JFC is an intimidating show to jump into. It might be a good idea to start with a brief summary about what the show is about (this is kind of a mean way to start off, I know).
Kerri: I made Katie do the same thing so it’s only fair.
How I came to love How I Met Your Mother
I began my journey through HIMYM because of my great friend with great taste, Aynsley’s, recommendation. She had been singing the show’s praises for some time and I decided to give it a shot. I mean, I knew I’d hate it. What’s to like about a popular sitcom narrated by an off-camera Bob Saget about the coming-of-age of wacky friends in their twenties? Continue reading
Email Roundtable #28 – Orphan Black
This week on the roundtable we continue with our Summer Television Secret Santa. Kerri gifted the Canadian sci-fi show, Orphan Black, to Katie. Below is their conversation about the show.
Kerri: Can I be a total pain in the butt and ask you to give our readers a brief summary of the show?
Katie: Orphan Black is a hour-long sci-fi drama that revolves around the steely and smart small time crook, Sarah Manning. When Sarah discovers a woman who looks exactly like her, Sarah’s world and identity is altered forever. Continue reading
Digging Up The Dog Pound: Paul Scheer Reenacts The Arsenio Hall Show
When I was a kid I remember staying up really, really late at night on the weekends, watching my little black and white TV in my bedroom. I’d watch anything that was on: movies, re-runs, late-night talk shows, things that I shouldn’t have been watching on a specific Canadian cable channel (you know the one) – everything with the sound turned down so low that I could just make it out but no one in the rest of the house could. It was a specific type of watching television – a guilty one – half delirious from a lack of sleep so that I was never quite sure if what I was watching was real or dreamt. I had exactly one vice in those days and TV was it. I’d sit there, or more accurately, lie there on my bedroom floor, propped up by pillows and covered with a blanket and just watch and watch and watch. I could afford to do it as a kid because, most likely, I didn’t have anything to do the next day until the TV watching started up again. Just having the TV on was soothing and addictive.
Blogday will now become Blogdays!
Hi Readers,
We are trying something a little different this week and in the weeks to come. We will be publishing our regularly scheduled blog entries on Tuesdays, as usual, but will be posting our Roundtables on Thursdays from here on out.
Thanks so much for reading!
The Golden Age of Television Team
The Golden Age of Television 