Tuned InReview
Last night saw the debut of Top Chef Texas, and true to the popular cliché about the nation’s largest state (until Alaska ruined everything), it was bigger. I have long since learned that it is pointless to really judge a Top …
Tuned InReview
Sometimes South Park makes strong episodes out of topical stories that are happening in the news. Sometimes it makes strong episodes out of non-topical stories that involve its main characters dealing with childhood. Given that …
Tuned InNews Media
If there’s one thing people who follow politics are trained to believe, it’s that sex scandals bring politicians down. A sexual harassment scandal, doubly so. And an inartful response to a sexual harassment scandal, triply. So after Politico reported that Herman Cain had been accused of harassment by former employees who received …
Tuned InTuned In
HBO has announced a premiere date, Jan. 29, for its David Milch / Michael Mann horseracing drama Luck. But should you care to lay odds on it early, the network will run a sneak preview of the pilot episode on Dec. 11, after the season finale of Boardwalk Empire. Then HBO will hold its horses, so to speak, for a month and a half, when it …
Tuned InTelevision
In News That’s Old But I’ve Been Too Busy To Blog About It News: FX’s American Horror Story and Showtime’s Homeland each got an order for a second season—no surprise for either, given their respective ratings success. (AHS …
Tuned InTuned In
Brian Williams is my favorite network news anchor. That is not to say that I watch him very often on NBC Nightly News. Let’s not get crazy here! But I love his dry humor and sharp observations; I like his work on 30 Rock and his …
Tuned InTuned In
Let’s try something different this week. This recap will not be a recap. We’re at about the halfway point of Boardwalk Empire season 2, and at the end of the six episodes HBO sent me in advance. “The Age of Reason” advanced …
Tuned InTelevision
In my print TIME column this week, I take a look at the much-photographed and -videotaped death of Muammar Gaddafi. (The column is behind TIME’s paywall, because TIME is a for-profit publication in the business of making people …
Tuned InTelevision
Hollywood is a forgiving town. Yes, you can behave badly, you can become a danger to yourself and others, you can burn bridges, and yet you can get a second chance, if you turn your life around, make amends and pay your debt to …
Tuned InTelevision
A mass audience is watching a drama about a creepy surveillance system that is watching and analyzing their every move–and cheering for the creepy surveillance system.
Tuned InTelevision
I always loved Beavis and Butt-Head, but it was mostly for the wrong reasons. The ’90s show was groundbreaking and culturally significant for its interstitial scenes, in which Mike Judge’s two cartoon idiots would watch music …
Tuned InTuned In
When Simon Cowell announced plans to launch The X Factor on Fox, I figured I had a bead on it: it would be more or less another version of American Idol in the fall, with different talent groupings. Which would be fine, but I …
Tuned InTelevision
Since its second season debuted Oct. 16 to ratings that would (and I assume did) make broadcast networks envious, you should have expected this, but AMC made it official: The Walking Dead will swarm across your TV for a third season.
