AltWeeklies Wire
A New Crop of Game Shows Take On-Air Debasement to a New Lownew
Watching a real Japanese game show conjures up mixed feelings of glee at the rampant creativity and sadness for the desperate contestants who'll do anything for money or attention. Watching shows like Wipeout and Hurl! is merely depressing, a reminder that when faced with a choice between originality and exploitation, American reality-TV producers will almost invariably choose the latter.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
07-25-2008 |
TV
Joel McHale of 'The Soup' Talks Bad TV and Standup Comedynew
Under the steady smirk of McHale, The Soup has been transformed from just another show built on easy, ironic jabs to a surprisingly effective front in the unending battle against terrible television. McHale is funny, for sure, which is why his new interest in performing stand-up comedy is so promising, but it's his point of view that adds purpose to all the cynicism.
Dig Boston |
Rob Turbovsky |
07-24-2008 |
TV
Leanimal Debuts on Project Runway!new
Great news for Portland fashion: Leanne Marshall, designer of the Leanimal label (leanimal.com) has just returned from New York, where she has secretly been for the past month or so ... filming the fifth season of Project Runway!
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
07-17-2008 |
TV
'Generation Kill' Author Evan Wright Talks Ass Time, Crack Highs and Why Roadblocks Killnew
Wright, who wrote parts of the script and was involved in other aspects of the production, has invited me over before the series debut for a private screening. But though we started the show more than a half-hour ago, we haven't gotten very far -- five minutes in at best. Despite apologetically promising to let me watch, Wright keeps pausing the DVD to offer behind-the-scenes tidbits that suddenly evolve into fascinating non sequiturs and counterintuitive spiels about the war. I'm not complaining.
L.A. Weekly |
Matthew Fleischer |
07-11-2008 |
TV
The Creators of 'The Wire' Take on Iraq in 'Generation Kill'new
Generation Kill transforms Iraq from a theoretical problem into something you feel in your gut. Plus, an interview with the HBO series creators Dave Simon and Ed Burns.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
07-10-2008 |
TV
Roman Polanski Finally Gets His Due in This Penetrating Documentarynew
Polanski, in life, has been as fascinatingly enigmatic as his films, with a personal back-story capable of trumping even his most bizarre fictions, and now it's all dredged up in Marina Zenovich’s HBO documentary.
New York Press |
Felicia Feaster |
07-10-2008 |
TV
A New HBO Series Puts the War into Perspectivenew
After HBO snatched up the rights to Evan Wright's best-selling 2004 book about his experiences embedded with a squad of First Recon Marines during the early weeks of the Iraq War, he met with The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns. The resulting seven-part miniseries, says Wright, is very similar to his own experiences.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
07-09-2008 |
TV
It's a (Mad) Man's Worldnew
Mad Men is about a segment of society so drunk on its power and influence that the better part of a decade passes before it realizes its time has come and gone.
San Antonio Current |
Luke Baumgarten |
07-09-2008 |
TV
Game Show Imports Like 'Wipeout' are a Study in Orientalismnew
Poking fun at the insanity of a Japanese game show isn't new. But now that mockery is being married with a shrewd commercialism as the very concepts that were once gently derided are Americanized.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
07-09-2008 |
TV
The Summer's Best Sitcoms Aren't on TV. They're Onlinenew
There's no need to pay for cable if you've got a nearby wi-fi connection. What's more, some of the best sitcoms currently being made are only available online.
Willamette Week |
Staff |
07-09-2008 |
TV
Reliving 'Mad Men' on DVDnew
Mad Men gets better as it goes along and you realize that it isn't about a murder and does not lampoon the American advertising industry in 1960.
NOW Magazine |
Staff |
07-07-2008 |
TV
'I Love Money' is Exactly What it Sounds Like: Patheticnew
With I Love Money, even the pretense of looking for a personal connection has been abandoned. The title brazenly declares the true intentions of just about anyone who goes on a reality TV show (look for Please Pay Attention to Me, coming soon).
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
07-07-2008 |
TV
'Traces of the Trade' Examines One Woman's Blood Moneynew
While searching her family's proud genealogy, a New England filmmaker discovered that her ancestors sold slaves.
Boston Phoenix |
Gerald Peary |
06-26-2008 |
TV
'The Venture Brothers': A Satire with Consistencynew
The brothers thumbs its nose at the absurdity of the Hardy Boys and Johnny Quest, showing the tremendous folly of seriously engaging in the rhetoric of Good vs. Evil. The world isn't black-and-white.
San Antonio Current |
Luke Baumgarten |
06-25-2008 |
TV
'Last Comic Standing' Makes Sure You Go Home Unhappynew
Unlike American Idol, pros are allowed to compete NBC's comedy competition. Too bad the voters prefer Larry the Cable Guy to David Cross.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
06-25-2008 |
TV
