Television Archives

King Solomon wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes that there’s nothing new under the sun, and that was circa 970 B.C., so you can imagine how recycled and overwarmed pretty much everything is now. As a pop culture connoisseur, I find Solomon’s screed particularly true of contemporary lit, film, and TV. Take any show, flick, Read More

I will admit that I have not always been nice to Lisa Raye.  She’s probably a great person.  Likely a good mom.  She’s absolutely stunning.  But her acting is BALLS.  It is absolute balls.  It’s a basket of balls (see: Single Ladies). But I’m going to stop being so hard on her about it because Read More

Tired of being the butt of everyone’s jokes, BET is adding significantly to its original programming roster. If the record-breaking success of the The Game and the benign tolerance of Let’s Stay Together are any indication, BET viewers are quite open to any adequately-plotted sitcoms and dramas the network might throw their way. At an Read More

So, SNL seems to be getting better. And the last episode had some generally pretty funny moments, though I had mixed feelings about this blaxploitation skit featuring Nicki Minaj. For those who can’t watch it, this gist of the clip is this: Minaj is the bride of Frankenstein’s monster, in a blaxploitation film that’s somewhat Read More

If y’all recall, when CW canceled “The Game” and sparked allegations of injustice, I said it wasn’t all that big a deal, because the show had middling ratings compared to the network’s other offerings. It also received an opportunity to execute a series finale that adequately wrapped up the open plot arcs: Derwin married Melanie Read More

Apologies for the lateness of the recap- I had to watch this one again. This episode begins to hit the crescendo of the story arc for the whole season: Don’s self destruction.  The real world keeps intervening on the neat little life he constructed.  Anna dies.  His assumed identity costs SCDP a major client, at Read More

Oh Peggy.  Peggy, Peggy, Peggy. You know it’s a good episode when Ida Blankenship‘s zingy racist one-liner (“If I wanted to see two Negros fight, I’d throw a dollar bill out of my window”) is the least interesting thing that happens. Don’s alcoholism is getting to be a bit tiring, so I appreciate Matthew Weiner Read More

Top Chef’s contributions to the reality show genre don’t come from exciting cliff-hangers or the evil machinations of those who would only win by cheating: the ingredients that make it work best are good chefs cooking food that looks pretty and makes you want to eat it. Occasionally, there’s a key rivalry or a chef Read More

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