It wasn’t quite the dramatic blitz of announcements that Fox had for us the other day, but NBC‘s 2011–12 schedule is starting to take shape. Among the new series ordered for next season are Smash, a musical described as a kind of grown-up Glee (we’ll see if that’s a contradiction in terms) and the remake of Prime Suspect with Maria …
Judging American Idol: The Final 4
Tonight, the four American Idol finalists sang songs that inspire them, plus the songs of Leiber and Stoller. (Inspired by the songs of Leiber and Stoller? Too bad!) Who was inspired? Who should be fired? Click the pix to read my reviews:
Boardwalk Empire Watch: They Did It All for the Nucky
Spoilers for the season finale of Boardwalk Empire coming up:
Lead TV characters often develop a signature move over time: a gesture or expression that comes to define them. Think Ralph Kramden’s gesturing into the air on The …
Walking Dead Watch: The Big Decision
Spoilers for the season finale of The Walking Dead coming up:
Because it had to create a first season of only six episodes so that AMC could air its first season starting Halloween, The Walking Dead had to fit a lot into a few …
Boardwalk Empire Watch: Arsenic and Old Wounds
Spoilers for last night’s Boardwalk Empire coming up:
Last week’s Boardwalk Empire may have had the actual gunfire, but “Paris Green” was chock full of people pulling triggers. There was a welter of activity, mostly …
Walking Dead Watch: Open the Hatch!
Spoilers for last night’s The Walking Dead coming up:
Because we began The Walking Dead (after the pre-zombie prologue) with Rick, waking up after a coma in the midst of the apocalypse, each episode has been a process of filling in the blanks in his, and our, knowledge. Not only are we learning about the physical realities of Zombie …
Walking Dead Watch: No Crying in the Boat
Spoilers for tonight’s Walking Dead coming up:
The disadvantage of getting The Walking Dead on screeners is that I don’t get the full experience of watching the show late Sunday as it airs. That’s also the advantage. How the …
Boardwalk Empire Watch: The Man Behind the Curtain
Spoilers for last night’s Boardwalk Empire coming up:
“The Emerald City” was an underwhelming episode of Boardwalk Empire, partly because it seemed largely to be mechanically setting up conflicts for the season’s final two …
Boardwalk Empire Watch: Sacrificing the Pawns
Spoilers for last night’s Boardwalk Empire coming up:
While Boardwalk Empire is a crime story, it’s not a story mainly about the men who pull the triggers but rather the men who hire them. And while it is in many ways a …
Walking Dead Watch: Back from the Undead
Spoilers for last night’s The Walking Dead coming up:
After a second episode that seemed to be set up partly to showcase what The Walking Dead can deliver in terms of zombie carnage on a basic-cable budget, the third episode …
Boardwalk Empire Watch: Conventional Wisdom
Spoilers for last night’s Boardwalk Empire coming up:
One of the pleasures of Boardwalk Empire has been how thoroughly and freely it has mixed historical and fictional people and events, without seeming bound to history or …
Walking Dead Watch: Live Together, Undie Alone
Quick spoilers for last night’s The Walking Dead coming up:
A series like The Walking Dead has different constituencies to try to please. There are the fans who have read the original comics, and the viewers who haven’t. There …
Talking Dead: What Did You Think of AMC’s Walking Dead Premiere?
Spoilers for the debut of The Walking Dead coming up:
As I wrote in my review and earlier on this blog, I really liked Frank Darabont’s pilot for The Walking Dead; the second episode I liked not nearly as much, but the third …