The Ex List

By on Mar 26, 2010 in Inner Monologues |

When in the course of television viewing it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the sentimental bands which have connected him with certain programs, a decent respect to the producers of those shows requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. In other words, Judgment Day has arrived, my friends. My backlog of television has reached mammoth proportions, and it’s time to cut some shows loose in the pursuit of sanity! Maybe I will revisit these shows again, but its curtains for now. Flashpoint This hostage-negotiation drama was supposed to be an American/Canadian collaboration. But CBS hasn’t exactly jumped at the chance to air the new episodes, so I’m wondering if it will ever be shown Stateside again. I checked this show out because of Enrico Colantoni (who played Veronica Mars’s pop), but I found myself enjoying both...

41 Shows Reviewed in 140 Characters or Less

By on Dec 23, 2009 in Inanities | 1 comment

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 fact that I watch all of the shows below religiously. I study the craft, folks. That’s a lie—I am ashamed of some of them, but I’m feeling forthright in my fourth-year-ness. Anyway, I only assumed that I couldn’t review all my shows for The Climax before I graduate. And then it occurred to me: I could review each in 140 characters or less. (Arbitrary number, I swear.) 24 Some seasons fire on all cylinders, and some make you want to shoot yourself in the kneecap. But I’m still a fan of the Bauer Power Hour. 30 Rock Is Tina Fey God? Even if not, this show is in...

A Show of a Certain Quality

By on Dec 7, 2009 in Previews |

Last week, Entertainment Weekly sent me a preview of TNT’s new comedic drama Men of a Certain Age. (I know—it’s kind of legitimate-TV-blogger of a thing to happen!) It premieres tonight at 10/9c, so I thought I should watch the preview and get my thoughts up here post haste. The show centers on three men (played by Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula) who became friends in college and stayed close throughout their somewhat-successful adult lives. But now that they’re hitting the half-century mark, they’re realizing that their dreams didn’t quite make it to fruition. They’re not have midlife crises, per se, but midlife assessments. Having just checked it out, I found the show to be nice and pleasant. That sounds like I’m damning it with faint praise, but I mean it in the best sense. Nothing climactic or explosive happened, nor did...