Happy Holidays and Cultural Learnings’ 2008 Television Time Capsule

Myles here (I felt like I should introduce myself, but I’m the blog’s only writer, so that seems unnecessary, but this is an unusually personal post and I thought it deserved a more formal introduction…the formality of which was erased by this spiel. Blerg).
First of all, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season [...]

Season Finale: Skins – “Everyone”

“Everyone”
Season Two Finale
This summer, I stopped in to review the first two episodes of Skins, a British series which aired this Fall on BBC America. And then, promptly, I completely abandoned the series – it was not out of lack of interest, but there was something about the show that didn’t particularly make it “appointment [...]

It is Written: Slumdog Millionaire, Reality Television and the Power of Inevitability

It is Written:
Slumdog Millionaire and the Power of Inevitability
Around these parts, it usually takes two things to make me write about a piece of cinema: first it has to be really, really good, and the second is that it has to have some connection to television as a medium. This is a self-imposed standard: I [...]

Friday Night Lights – “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”

“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”
December 17th, 2008
It’s kind of inexplicably saddening to know that my two favourite Wednesday shows, Friday Night Lights and Pushing Daisies, are both in similar positions. They are both shows with a shortened life expectancy, airing episodes that are forced to start slowly wrapping up one side of storylines to please [...]

Pushing Daisies – “The Norwegians”

“The Norwegians”
December 17th, 2008
If there is a word that best describes Pushing Daisies, it is potential – it is the kind of show where you can imagine where they can take these characters, what kind of fantastical scenarios they can place them in. A world in which there is a crack team of Norwegian investigators [...]

Season Premiere: Flight of the Conchords – “A Good Opportunity”

Airing early on FunnyOrDie.com, how does the second season premiere of HBO’s comedy series stack up?

How I Met Your Mother – “Little Minnesota”

“Little Minnesota”
December 15th, 2008
For those of you who don’t know, I am from Canada. So is Cobie Smulders, who plays Robin Cherbotsky, who is also from Canada. This has made us the butt of many jokes in the span of How I Met Your Mother’s four seasons. The show has never really strived for accuracy, [...]

Chuck – “Chuck vs. Santa Claus”

“Chuck vs. Santa Claus”
December 15th, 2008
When someone thinks of what a good Christmas episode should be, “Chuck vs. Santa Claus” will meet many of these criteria. It has plenty of jokes within the holiday spirit, characters dressed up in seasonal garb, generous samplings of Christmas-themed music, and the absolutely genius decision to have Reginald VelJohnson [...]

Season Finale: Dexter – “Do You Take Dexter Morgan?”

“Do You Take Dexter Morgan?”
December 14th, 2008
I was minding my own business one night about a month ago when a (drunk) resident in my building asked if I would like to join a game of poker. I declined, planning on getting some work done that evening, but he saw that I had a fair amount [...]

Who Won Survivor Gabon, and Did They Deserve It?

Who Won Survivor: Gabon?
I may have written almost nothing about it this season, but Survivor: Gabon has been an intriguing and entertaining season of Survivor. It hasn’t been that interesting as a far as the game structure itself, which is the same as ever, but the casting people have managed to put together a variety [...]