Primetimely

Prime, timely commentary on primetime TV.

Tag archive for ‘Dollhouse’

2010 Primies: Best Episodes

It’s often hard to remember all of the television I watch every year, but some episodes make themselves impossible to forget. The following hours or half-hours of television were exemplary in some way, whether it was for the writing or the direction of the episode; for the way they ended [...]

2009 Primies: Best Shows

Because I’m theoretically on vacation, let’s just speed through this! Here are my picks for the ten best programs on the boob tube for the year of 2009. (Hint: AMC takes the cake!)

  1. Breaking Bad
  2. Mad Men
  3. Lost
  4. Battlestar Galactica
  5. 30 Rock
  6. True Blood
  7. Modern Family
  8. Fringe
  9. Glee
  10. Dollhouse

2009 Primies: Best Episodes

Aloha, dear TV junkies.  I may be on vacation, but thanks to some coffeshop wi-fi, I’m still able to update this here blog with cinnamon-bun-sticky fingers.  Surely you didn’t think I’d forgotten about honoring the best small-screen moments of 2009!  Listed below are my favorite episodes across the airwaves from all [...]

2009 Primies: Best Characters

Because it’s the end of the year (and of the decade), every TV critic is releasing best-of lists. And I am no exception, though small-potatoes I may be. Ergo I announce the First Annual Primie Awards! And the first category honors the 15 characters whom I appreciate most, in descending order of awesomeness. Frankly, the shows below would [...]

41 Shows Reviewed in 140 Characters or Less

Rose Byrne in "Damages"

Note: The following post first appeared as an article by the same name in The Climax, Hampshire College’s newspaper. Also, some of these micro-reviews may exceed 140 characters—my bad!

I am a student of television. Writing television scripts is my Division III [a senior project, in Hampshire speak]. So I have no shame in the [...]

The Prime Times: Vai Com Deus Edition

A promotional image for "V"

Here are the latest news items from the idiot-box world:

  • Lost finally has a return date—the final season will premiere with a two-hour installment on Tuesday, February 2, at 9/8c on ABC.
  • Chuck‘s return date was also announced today. The action-comedy will return with two episodes on Sunday, January 10, and then another one the following [...]

Doll Roll Call

The cast of "Dollhouse"

With actors like Mariska Hargitay and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the primetime landscape is not for want of unusual names. But no show has more on its payroll than Dollhouse, as anyone who has studied the opening titles can attest. Eliza Dushku, Tamhoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz, etc. If it weren’t for dear Olivia Williams and her ordinary name, [...]

Dostoyevsky Novels and the Dream Era

Patton Oswalt

The A.V. Club recently posted an in-depth interview with comedian/actor Patton Oswalt, the voice of the rat in Ratatouille and the star of upcoming drama Big Fan (and, incidentally, a man whose first name is my middle!). His insights into comedy, acting, and fatherhood are all astute and articulate (if a tad profane). [...]

An Elegy for the Remote-Free

Anna Torv in "Fringe"

The following post was originally published on my old blog on April 1, 2009.

One of my favorite practices this season was Fox’s “remote-free TV” model, in which the networks aired fewer commercials during each episode of Fringe and Dollhouse—while charging advertisers more for the exclusivity—in an effort to keep viewers watching live, instead of recording the [...]