Arshile Gorky had one of the most singular careers in American art — a decades-long, almost self-annihilating immersion in the work of a few painters he revered, and then an explosion in the early 1940s into an art that was entirely his own. From now through January 10 there’s a terrific new Gorky retrospective at the Philadelphia …
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Who Says TV News Is Biased? TV News Viewers Do!
The Pew Research Center has issued a study about the public perception of TV news which finds shockingly—shockingly!—that TV audiences see Fox News as the most ideological network. But beyond that, the study is a trove of curious data points showing that people find ideology in a lot of places—and they don’t necessarily mind it. …
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Halloween Comedy Watch: Who Wants a Chuckle?
Last night, each of NBC’s Thursday comedies aired episodes that were, more or less, Halloween-themed. In the spirit of the holiday, I have something for each of them! But who gets a fun-size Snickers and who gets a rock?
Roy DeCarava: 1919-2009
The photographer Roy DeCarava has died. The great chronicler of 20th century African-American life, especially in New York, DeCarava had a sophisticated aesthetic and a capacious sense of life.
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South Park: The Meat of the Matter
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In the interest of balance today, time to post about some offensive TV on Comedy Central that I liked. South Park’s “Whale Whores,” while not an all-time great, was one of those episodes that hit for the cycle of South Park …
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NBC News: More Chuck, Less Trauma
Chuck fans, you do not have to eat at Subway today unless you actually feel like it. In a pretty surprising move, NBC announced that it was expanding its order for the Zachary Levi spy comedy by six extra episodes this season. Giving you extra time to work on those “Save Chuck” avatars for your Twitter and Facebook accounts.
In …
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Jeff Dunham: What Am I Not Getting?
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I usually believe in accepting defeat gracefully. When my preferred candidates lose an election, I do not threaten to move to Canada. When my government chooses a policy I reject, I do not believe that makes it constitutionally illegitimate. Part of being a grown-up is …
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TV Tonight: League of Not-Exactly-Gentlemen
The League might have been a lot better if there were a lot less of it.
Watching the first two episodes of this raunchy FX sitcom, about 30-something guys in a fantasy-football league, I got to thinking that the premise would have made a perfect webisode series. Online series have not been around long enough to have a list of defining …
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The Morning After: Post-Game
It was not a great night for sports in New York City, so it’s a good thing Friday Night Lights came back. At least if you have DirecTV, or access to the DirecTV press website. My unscientific poll of Tuned Inland yesterday showed more people in favor of my waiting to write about FNL until it comes back on NBC next year, and more people …
Ansel Adams in Color
I’ve been looking through a new edition of Ansel Adams in Color, a book first published in 1993, nine years after his death, that’s been re-issued this year with 20 additional photographs. It’s a book full of subtle, long-deliberated pictures, which is pretty much what you would expect of Adams, and it led me to think about Adams and …
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FNL Gets the Ball Back
Friday Night Lights returns to DirecTV tonight, and my review (which was held for a week in the print magazine) just posted at time.com. So far, season 4 is not just characteristically excellent, but it’s reinvigorated by the device of sending Coach Taylor to start over at the down-and-out East Dillon High.
I don’t have DirecTV, but …
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The Best Episodes of 2009
Yes, it’s that time of year, when people who work at magazines with lengthy production schedules must start thinking about lists of The Best Things of a year that still has two months to go. And I’m asking for your help.
It’s no state secret that I do two 10-Best TV lists: best series of the year, and best episodes of the year. Best …
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The Morning After: Not the Fault of My Receiver
My live-primetime-TV viewing is going to be limited for the next week or so, and for once, it’s not my Tivo’s fault. I’m having some house work done which has put my primary TV in storage for a while. So I’ll be more dependent than usual on Hulu and on whatever episodes I get in advance on DVD; for everything else, my morning-after posts …