AltWeeklies Wire
How a Throwaway Idea at the Barkley Ad Agency Became the 'Sonic Guys'new
The campaign was supposed to last just four months, from September 2003 to the beginning of a new campaign in January 2004. Five years later, the campaign is still going and has become a pop-culture phenomenon. The commercials have given the quirky drive-in an identity and made Sonic as recognizable as McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's.
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 Era of TV Advertising in Presidential General Elections is Overnew
To the extent that TV ads have ever had an impact in a general election, that influence has been sharply diminished by the Internet and TiVo Ages. The proof is in the pudding. Remember those great ads from the Bush-Kerry race only four years ago? How about Clinton-Dole or Bush-Gore? Of course you don't.
Boston Phoenix |
Steven Stark |
06-26-2008 |
Commentary
'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
God Bless Adult Swim for 'Fat Guy Stuck in Internet'new
Not only does Cartoon Network's late-night roundup of adult-appealing shows give us endless hours of moronic entertainment, it also provides employment for dozens of men and women whose mothers drank way too much during pregnancy. How else to explain Adult Swim's newest Sunday night offering, Fat Guy Stuck in Internet?
Weekly Alibi |
Devin D. O'Leary |
06-24-2008 |
TV
'Black Gold' Turns Derrick Crews into Reality TV Starsnew
The language is filthy and so are the men; for television, this seems about as real as reality programming can get. In fact, you get the feeling most of these dudes would rather be anywhere else than in front of a camera -- preferably up to their armpits in grime, grit and oil.
Metro Times |
Jim McFarlin |
06-24-2008 |
TV
A Sinner's View of Tim Russert's Passingnew
The howling dis shown to the rest of us by the stage-managed, manufactured and excruciatingly prolonged televised requiem for Russert has been rather too much.
L.A. Weekly |
Marc Cooper |
06-20-2008 |
Media
Huckabee Takes the Smart TV Routenew
While predictable, his joining Fox News as an expert inside commentator doesn't trivialize him. It is less than full immersion in a media career and partly a continuation of a political career. It's one of those cross-pollinated abominations of modern talking-head punditry. It also means he can't fail.
Arkansas Times |
John Brummett |
06-19-2008 |
Commentary
'The Middleman' Saves the World from Comic-Book Bad Guysnew
The Middleman is the most delightful pop-culture product since Juno.
'Top Chef' Richard Blais on His Reality Experiencenew
Listen to the runner-up Blais discuss the personalities and his future after his run on Bravo's reality cooking show.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Besha Rodell |
06-16-2008 |
Food+Drink
Sunny and Mild: Getting to Know L.A.'s TV Weather Friendsnew
Few of us realize that a tremendous amount of both science and communication skills goes into forecasting the weather.
L.A. Weekly |
Gendy Alimurung |
06-13-2008 |
Media
USA’s New Procedural Marshals Little Excitementnew
Procedural fans looking for something new this summer probably won’t mind Sight’s mediocrity, and it does at least make an effort to shed some light on an area of police work that’s underrepresented in TV and movies—and generally depicted from the criminal’s perspective if it’s showcased at all. The more these similar shows fill the cable airwaves, though, the harder each one will have to work to distinguish itself. And in that respect, In Plain Sight clearly falls short.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
06-05-2008 |
TV
