All posts tagged: TV

TV on DVD: “Cop Rock: The Complete Series”

Published by Brian Boone

Unless you watched it during its original run, you’ve probably never seen Cop Rock. Save for the occasional airing on a “can you believe this ever got made?”-themed marathon on a few cable channels every decade or so, it was pulled off the air after 11 episodes in 1990. It is legendary, but for the wrong reasons. It’s synonymous with bad television, although the press release for Cop Rock: The Complete Series on DVD calls it a “short-lived cult series.” Regardless of why, Cop Rock is undeniably a landmark of television. It’s one of the most high profile disasters ever, the kind of bomb where everyone behind it is astonishingly unaware of how bad it is, but how literally everyone else in the world could tell. Kind of like how NBC thought five nights of Jay Leno in primetime was a good idea, or how Mitt Romney’s internal research showed he was going to win the 2012 election in a landslide. Cop Rock is that rare, fascinating place where artistic hubris and delusion go hand …

Star Wars Episode VII is coming. What else do you need? (starwars.com photo)

24 current reasons to be thankful in 2014

Published by Pete Chianca

Sure, the government’s a mess, the environment is spiraling out of control and American cities are actually burning. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take time to consider some of the reasons we all have to be thankful. So everyone, please put down your torches and pitchforks long enough to appreciate the following blessings: 1) Your job doesn’t require you to balance anything on Kim Kardashian’s big shiny butt. 2) You’re not married to Robin Thicke, probably. At least not anymore. 3) Statistically, if you get pulled over by a police officer you still have a very good chance of not being shot to death. No matter what Nancy Grace says. 4) You’re not on Nancy Grace. 5) You’re not a Red Sox fan. Oh, you are? Er, sorry. 6) You weren’t in the last “Expendables” movie. Oh, you were? Er, sorry. 7) You didn’t let yourself get too attached to “Selfie.” 8) Your professional success doesn’t rely on cooperation from the Republican Party. 9) You didn’t have everything riding on that damn Benghazi report. 10) You …

BBT

You’re Dead To Us…Wacky and Explicitly Descriptive TV Theme Songs

Published by Brian Boone

In which we look at once common curiosities of pop culture that don’t exist anymore, be it because of changing tastes, the fragmentation of culture, or merely the fickle nature of fads.  Like most people who have taste and are also pretentious, I loathe The Big Bang Theory. There’s so much innovative comedy going right now, so much breathtaking work—30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Veep, Girls, Family Tree, Arrested Development—and yet this show with the broad characters and the easy jokes and the braying laugh track is the most popular comedy on TV, by far, is The Big Bang Theory. Even two-hour blocks of repeats on cable bring in more viewers than Parks and Recreation. In my city, reruns come on after The Simpsons every night. Whenever my son and I watch that, he always wants to stay on for the first few minutes of The Big Bang Theory. I was worried he actually liked the show (but at least he’s seven – what’s your excuse, AMERICA?). He doesn’t. He just really likes the theme …

Phillips

The Reality Check – Top 20 American Idol Contestants Of All-Time Part 1

Published by GG

Photo via screenrant.com As a prelude to the twelfth season of American Idol, rather than do a normal preview of this season’s talent, I wanted to do something with a more historical scope. My Reality Check podcast partner-in-crime Tiffany ( @TVProducerLady ) and I jumped on Skype for a couple hours and went through every single top 12 (13 in some seasons) finalist in all eleven previous seasons and discussed them ad nauseum. We didn’t come up with a specific algorithm […]

Kelly

Valentine’s Day Character Crushes!

Published by KJ

So this is Valentine’s Day? They can keep it! OK, so maybe I shouldn’t be saying that, after all I’m hitched and as a decent husband I should be overspending today on flowers, candy and teddy bears in hopes that my wife will repay me in … making awesome dinner for me! I’m a hopeless romantic, but I’ve never understood why we have to go out of our way this one day to love someone we should be loving just […]