Cable networks are getting increasingly jealous of the streaming platforms (Netflix, Amazon) putting all of their shows online at once and hogging all the attention, so it was perhaps inevitable that they’d find ways around this. Last year, NBC put the entire first season of “Aquarius” On Demand at the same time (I guess so…
Category: TV Reviews
The Most Disappointing TV of the Year
Not all TV is created equal, and even though this year saw more terrific TV shows than ever before, they weren’t all gems. The following is a list of “disappointing” TV developments that could be TV moments, episodes, subplots, or entire seasons. And it’s not so much “the worst” TV as it is shows that…
Donald Trump on “SNL”…Actually Not that Bad
“The episode sucked.” “The jokes went nowhere.” “Half the sketches were awkward and the other half were aimless.” “The pacing was weird and the last half hour was ridiculously low-energy.” “Half the cast looked like they didn’t want to be there.” “They played it too safe.” “The host isn’t a natural sketch comedy performer.” All…
TV Review: “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Strain”
Two Sunday night horror shows that had their season finales last night (small world). However…well, the news is more mixed than positive. Fear the Walking Dead…This spin-off of The Walking Dead is less about the breakdown of civilization and more about the panicky overkill that might result in the early days of a crisis. It…
The 7 Best Series You’re not Watching: “Hannibal,” “Show Me a Hero,” “Another Period,” and More
In a week’s time, 7 of the best series that you’re (probably) not watching will have experienced their season or–for shame–series finales, and now might be as good a time as any to catch up with them. Honorable Mention: Welcome to Sweden…I’m sad to see this terrific, underrated Greg Poehler gem go since NBC has already…
“Outlander” Finale and Game of Thrones’ Big Battle: Is TV Now Better Than Movies?
Big doings happened this weekend, and I don’t mean watching The Rock “battle” an Earthquake in the unintentionally hilarious “San Andreas.” I mean this might be the weekend where it finally became obvious that TV shows are now the place to find all the things movies no longer care about. This weekend, I sat in…
Series Finale of “Mad Men” and Ranking the Seasons
Sometimes, when you’ve been watching a TV show for 7 seasons (that were really stretched over nine years) and said TV show has always inspired conflicting emotions—like “Is Mad Men really that good or are we getting suckered by the prestigious vibe?” or “Was that last episode just straight-up depressing and unsatisfying or true art…which is often depressing and…
TV Reviews: Season Finales for “Good Wife,” “Wolf Hall,” “Red Road,” and “Vikings
All seasons must end, but not all season finales are created equal as the following shows proved… The Good Wife…What a mess of a season finale, and also my pick for the worst episode of an otherwise stellar season. By now, “The Good Wife” is actually at its worst when it’s about, well, The Good…
Series Finale Review of “Justified” PLUS Ranking All the Seasons
It’s an understatement to say that I’m sad to see “Justified” go. Longtime readers know that I was always a big fan of this show, its characters (particularly the “bad” ones), and author Elmore Leonard’s work in general. Plenty of other TV reviewers have called this “the death of the modern Western” but they said…
TV Review: “Better Call Saul” the First Must-See Spin-Off in a Decade
As a general rule, TV spinoffs are not very good, and that is a generous way of saying that for every “Frasier” (the most literate sitcom in Broadcast history that I think is actually a better show than “Cheers”) there are five spin-offs that get cancelled after a first season. In fact, “Better Call Saul”…
Movie Review: The Gunman
A programmer that I wanted to like more than I did. What Works: Sean Penn may be the exact right actor (at the exact right time) to play an action hero. He’s world-weary but intense, briskly intelligent but believably physical, and his “just doing this for the paycheck” detachment actually fits the role really well. Even…
TV Review: “Conan” Goes to Cuba
I’ve always been a Conan O’Brien fan, but I don’t watch the show much since he moved to the wilderness–I mean, “plum channel” that is TBS. I’m no snob when it comes to basic cable—AMC’s “Better Call Saul” gets better every week and FX just might be the best network on TV right now—but Conan…
“Parks and Recreation” Series Finale Review AND Ranking the 7 Seasons
Only a few weeks ago, NBC said goodbye to one of their only two shows I really loved: “Parenthood.” Then last night NBC said goodbye to the other one:”Parks and Recreation.” With that, I pretty much said goodbye to NBC since out of their current lineup I now only watch “The Blacklist” (but for how…