The beauty of an episode like “Decoy” is the free-wheeling joy that Justified takes in letting its characters spend their words like newly minted lottery winners.
Devil in the Details: The Real Problem With History Channel’s Satan
The Bible never specifies what Satan looks like. Why give him dark skin and a Sith Lord’s hood?
Girls Watch: You Call That a Happy Ending?
Intentionally or not, the season finale pulled off a neat trick, giving us a romantic-comedy finish that had me yelling at Adam to run in the other direction.
TV Tonight: Bates Motel
The first mystery that arises in Bates Motel–the psycho quasi-prequel from producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin–is: what kind of series is this?
Back to the Land: NBC’s The Farm Spinoff Failed, But Networks Shouldn’t Abandon the Country
We should all be glad that the Dwight-based spinoff of The Office will not be a series. And yet, as Duck Dynasty has taught us, there’s a real opening for comedy outside NBC’s urban comfort zone.
Dead Tree Alert: Wed Menace; or, the Marital Politics of The Americans
FX’s Cold War drama has the action of a thriller like Homeland, but the melancholy and ambiguous shadings of a character study like Mad Men.
The Papal Announcement: For a Day, (Very) Old Media Triumph
In an age of digital news and instant leaks, the suspense and awe of the announcement showed the power of analog media. Like chimneys.
Why the World Needs a Kickstarter Veronica Mars Movie
If Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell can finance this project, it could expand the creative possibilities of movies and TV alike.
Spring Break Is Coming: Watch the Parody School of Thrones
The video, which imagines the war for Westeros in a high school, is actually at least half a good idea for an actual TV series.
Girls Watch: Slick With Sadness
Girls’ second-to-last episode of the season does some uncomfortable emotional digging, in a half-hour that may have had you covering your eyes, or your ears.
Idol Watch: America’s Next Top Balladeer?
How has Idol managed to make its finalist choices so much less interesting than The Voice’s?
The Americans Watch: Rides With Strangers
A kidnapping, or “kidnapping,” adds more strain to Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage, or “marriage.”
History Channel’s Bible Is a Hit. Does That Mean TV Will Get Religion?
We may see more TV for religious believers as a result of The Bible. What I’d love to see–but am not so sure we will–is more TV about religious believers.