Ghosts in the Darkness

A Portland paranormal detective searches for gold on SyFy’s Ghost Mine.

DVD & TV We believe what we want to believe, especially in the world of the paranormal. Some will argue that something that goes bump in the night is a restless spirit. Others, like your carpenter, insist    More

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 AP KRYZA

Red Riding Hoodie

Grimm goes into the woods to catch a predator.

DVD & TV What can you divine about a television series from its pilot? Probably about as much as you can learn by looking at footprints in a muddy crime scene and determining the killer wore Timberlands. But   More

 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 AARON MESH

Down The Tube

They say it’s the Golden Age of TV. It will be if you stop watching crap.

DVD & TV I’ve got a confession to make: I don’t watch nearly as much TV as I should. I say “should” because when someone is being paid to write about television, there’s an expect ...   More

 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Daniel Carlson

The 2008 Olympics

The Chinese have certainly learned marketing.

Shooting The Messenger

The Marines of Generation Kill don’t need no stinking sermons.

DVD & TV Generation Kill only makes sense if you’ve seen The Wire, but not quite for the reasons you’d expect. The Wire has now joined that short list of television shows whose titles are shorthand ...   More

 

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Daniel Carlson

Turning Japanese

Game show imports are a study in orientalism.

DVD & TV The premise for ABC’s Wipeout is pretty simple: Hearty Americans of slightly above-average looks and strength compete in an escalatingly dumb series of physical competitions designed to make the ...   More

 

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 Daniel Carlson

Band Of Fathers

Why is John Adams next in the hearts of his countrymen? He’s on TV.

DVD & TV John Adams, which stars Paul Giamatti as a very grumpy Founding Father, is the kind of miniseries HBO excels at making, a sweeping historical epic that boasts an all-star cast, solid credentials on th ...   More

 

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 Daniel Carlson

Drawn and Quartered

The predictable failure of Quarterlife.

DVD & TV NBC’s Quarterlife, a sitcom about those crazy kids and their blogs, has been booted from the network after just one episode and relegated to sister network Bravo. The explanation is a pretty sim ...   More

 

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 Dan Carlson

The Long and Winding Road Rules

DVD & TV I am now too old to get away with regularly watching MTV, which makes The Real World/Road Rules Challenge perfect for me. Let me explain. As did most people my age, I grew up not only watching MTV bu ...   More

 

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Daniel Carlson

Strike One

Stewart and Colbert return—but it’s just not the same.

DVD & TV Watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert do their shows in the midst of the Writers Guild strike is probably one of the most surreal viewing experiences I’ve ever had. And I don’t mean sur ...   More

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Daniel Carlson