// Category Archive for: TV

TV Shows: Archive Crawls and Checking In

By Lisa Anderson

Recently, I started watching The Big Bang Theory. With regular programs in summer reruns, I’ve tuned into syndicated episodes of the show, which many of my friends enjoy but which I’d never thought to watch before. Not having started from the beginning, I’ve been left to piece together many details about the character and their storylines. None of this would be remarkable except for the ways in which television viewing has changed over the past few years. (more…)

Kovacs for Beginners: Ernie Kovacs, The ABC Specials

By John Lane

For a background history of the genius of Ernie Kovacs and his influence, I refer readers to my previous article concerning the grand, pioneering master.

One can say it is an embarrassment of riches when one holds anything product-wise in your hands having to do with Ernie Kovacs. But that having been said, I feel like the release of Ernie Kovacs: The ABC Specials is a slight misstep on the part of Shout! Factory. (more…)

Assemblog: June 29, 2012

Image from The Art Of The Title

New this week on Popshifter: an attempt to answer the question regarding sex, violence, and horror in movies: Are we short-charging the teens?; reviews of new releases by Jesca Hoop, DIIV, Ty Segall Band, and Neneh Cherry & The Thing; in praise of singer/songwriter Gillian Welch; and a look at a 1974 John Lee Hooker concert now on DVD.

(more…)

Assemblog: June 8, 2012

Screencap from Miami Vice Fashion

New this week on Popshifter: a SpaceX celebration mix; reviews of The dB’s Falling Off The Sky, Jherek Bishoff’s Composed; John Singer Sergeant from John Dufilho; and a new band to watch: Sad Baby Wolf.

(more…)

Five Reasons We Love Nathan Fillion

By Lisa Anderson

Nathan Fillion as
Mal Reynolds on Firefly

Few Canadian actors have been as beloved in the 21st century than Nathan Fillion. He’s perhaps best known for his role as spaceship smuggler captain and war veteran Malcolm Reynolds, in Joss Whedon’s short-lived but influential Firefly series. It’s true enough that Browncoats (Firefly fans) still love their Captain; he even unintentionally set off an online fundraising firestorm last year by suggesting that he would buy the rights to the show and distribute it for free if he had enough money. There are many other reasons that Nathan Fillion has as many fans as he does, though—even aside from being handsome and seeming friendly and funny in interviews and at conventions. Here are are just a few.
(more…)

Top Ten: Jim Carrey’s Most Humorous Characters

By Julie Finley

Jim Carrey: some people love him . . . some people hate him. I would fall into the “love” category, although I don’t love every single role he has played. But the ones I do adore, I REALLY love because no one could ever pull it off quite like him!

Sadly, there are people who actually claim that he’s “Not Funny!” or “Stupid!” I honestly do not know how anyone could NOT find at least one of his characters humorous, but some people are just assholes that lack a sense of humor. So, if you are one of those types, don’t even bother to read this! If you do have a healthy sense of humor, but have only paid attention to one or two characters he’s played, read on (or if you just appreciate the guy, this will be of interest)!

I’ve compiled a list of my favorite comedic roles he’s portrayed over the years. This list will not include his dramatic or more serious roles. He is a great dramatic actor, but comedy is truly his forte, and I really wish someone in Hollywood would write an incredible comedy film script that could bring his finest talents back into the spotlight. It’s been a while since he’s been in a rip-roaring hilarious feature, and I blame that on the absolute garbage that has come out of Hollywood in the past 10+ years. I think the last really great comedies I’ve seen were anything involving Sacha Baron Cohen, Bad Santa, The Forty Year Old Virgin, and Stepbrothers. Everything else has been totally lame, and I am sick of seeing the same five actors in the same roles over and over again!

With that said, here are my favorites, and I will note: these are original characters developed by Jim, not impersonations (which he is incredible at doing, but these are his own creations).
(more…)

The Talented Mr. Rennie

By Melissa Bratcher

At a certain point in my life, I made anyone who spent any amount of time at my house watch the movie Hard Core Logo. This continued for a couple of years. I couldn’t articulate what I liked best about it, but it seemed important that every one of my friends be exposed to it. I love the relationship of Joe and Billy, unhinged John and the ridiculous Pipefitter, as well as the Joey Ramone cameo. The music was good, the story was engrossing, and I loved it.

Hard Core Logo, 1996

I think, though, the thing I liked best was Callum Keith Rennie. He was completely mesmerizing. Handsome, rangy, and angular, but he was more than that. He had intensity, a barely subdued violence just bubbling under the surface. Every time he showed up, he was the most interesting person on the screen.

(more…)

Those Crazy (?) Canadian Kids: A Grudging Appreciation Of Degrassi

By Maureen

I can’t believe I even suggested I write this. I don’t watch Degrassi. I don’t care about Degrassi. I am too old and too not-Canadian to have grown up with it and find it endearing. I openly mock it and still remind everyone Drake was once Aubrey Graham.

Manny Santos hugs her mom

That said, my friends did go through a post-college, pre-full time employment period of watching the shit out of Degrassi. During the marathons I unwittingly experienced, there was one thing I noticed that I did find impressive.
(more…)

RetrOntario.com: “Yours to Rediscover”

By Emily Carney

Image from RetrOntario.com

Certain commercials, jingles, TV show themes, and public television identifications from the 1980s and 1990s are etched into my mind like a road map of the past. These are the kinds of things that I’m humming after I wake up from a deep sleep . . . obviously, watching public television in those days made for some strong formative impressions. One new website, RetrOntario.com, takes this spirit further by preserving Ontario-based programming from that era.
(more…)

Assemblog: May 25, 2012

The Great Gatsby, 2012
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

New this week on Popshifter: The Monks; reviews of The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall, Max Payne 3, Ernie Kovacs: Percy Dovetonsils . . . thpeaks, and The Lowbrow Reader Reader; plus When Community Is A Commodity

(more…)