Great TV: Introduction
Look. That’s all TV asks of its audience: just look. Watch. Turn it on and let the light and shadows pour over your eyes and sound fall upon your ears. There’s never been anything easier than to sit still and let the jumping box work its hypnotic unblinking gaze on your readily open psyche. It’s…
Great TV: The Prisoner
Who is Number 1? If you are Number 6 this is a serious question, particularly since Number 6 asks Number 2 this question in the beginning credits of every episode of The Prisoner. First airing in Canada in 1967, this spy-sci fi-mystery-thriller was unlike anything ever seen before–a sort of 1960s version of Twin Peaks…
Great TV: Arrested Development
Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything–and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. But enough of that already: this is the story of a ridiculous collection of human beings who fall apart and are ill-equipped to deal…
Great TV: Parks & Recreation
There may be no more likable or positive show that has aired on television so far in the 21st century than Parks & Recreation. Although created by the same producers that adapted The Office for American television, in both spirit and characterization it’s the polar opposite of that other (far more popular) show, which was…
Great TV: I, Claudius
How easy it is to forget that people have always been the same throughout history. Even thousands of years ago, people loved and hated, desired power, feared death, and went about the daily business of living. In short, they were flesh and blood and mortal…
Great TV: Lookwell
Let’s talk about Adam West, who passed away today at the age of 88 after a long acting career where he started off as an actor, became a caricature, and then ended it by playing a heightened version of himself. West always came across as a rather affable, if somewhat loopy, guy. Even though he…
Great TV: Deadwood
Although somewhat difficult to imagine in contemporary times, for the majority of human history life was a brutal experience. Minor cuts could turn into major infections that could necessitate amputation or end in death; a case of the flu or strep throat could be terminal; violent crimes were difficult to investigate to any accuracy; might…
Great TV: Spaced
Your 20s is a weird decade in life: being out on your own for the first time, trying to get a career going, and navigating the pitfalls of adult relationships without having much experience can be both exciting and frustrating. A lot of the time, it’s being surprised that you’ve either outgrown many things you’ve…
Great TV: The Riches
Listen: not every show makes it full cycle. Some shows fizzle out: it’s just what happens in the high turnover business of television. One day you’re the critical darling among a crowded slate and the next you’re cancelled after 13 episodes. Low ratings, a faltering viewership, or just rotten luck can doom a series before…
Great TV: Frasier
♪♫♬Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin’, tossed salad and scrambled eggs ♪♫♬. But of course everyone that’s seen Frasier would recognize this familiar line, sung over the closing credits and sung by star Kelsey Grammer. But the lyrics hold…
Great TV: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Although this is primarily a movie site, television is also written about here, mostly because the lines between TV and film have become increasingly blurred over the years. Just as the series of articles on Great TV is a section…
Let’s play a word association game. If I used the words creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, and ooky, my guess is…
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