// Category Archive for: TV

Highway To Hell: Supernatural

By Jemiah Jefferson

Sam and Dean Winchester are insanely attractive twentysomething brothers who roam the back roads and byways of the United States, acting as de facto supernatural investigators and monster hunters. When they were still kids, demonic forces killed their mother, launching their dad John into a nomadic life of arcane study, occasionally interspersed with some good-old-fashioned buckshot-and-salt, silver-bullet battles for immediate survival. John Winchester trained his sons from childhood to be superlative badasses like him, and continue his quest to defeat the demon who stole away their normal lives, and any other demonic bad guys they run across.

(more…)

Five Faves: Sherlock Holmes In TV And Film

By Lisa Anderson

There is a new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out in December, and I for one am a little nervous.

Now, I’m no Holmes expert, even though I read some of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle when I was younger. And I was actually excited about the project at first, because of the involvement of Robert Downey, Jr. and in spite of widespread skepticism over the director, Guy Ritchie. It was the trailer that really concerned me.
(more…)

Don’t Touch That Dial: TV That Shaped My Musical Tastes

By Jesse Roth

Like many members of my generation (and those of the previous one), I received a decent yet incomplete music education via the radio, MTV, and my parents’ eclectic record collection. By the time I hit high school however, I was quickly seeking new avenues for discovering music.
(more…)

Don’t Fall Into The Pit: Parks And Recreation

By Lisa Anderson

A network TV season has ended, and as usual, the battlefield is littered. Some shows have been renewed, some have been axed, and some have found homes on other networks. One survivor among new shows was Parks and Recreation, a sitcom co-produced by and starring Saturday Night Live alum Amy Poehler.
(more…)

The Reproductive Olympics: How Television Guilts Women Into Motherhood

By Emily Carney

I am, at the time of writing this, in my early thirties, and I am enjoying a relatively snag-free life of teaching and writing. I happen to also be married to someone I have known for much of my adult life. However, to some people, these things are completely inconsequential.

Whenever I see people from my past, or even when I meet them for the first time, the topic eventually turns to: When are you having kids? I sheepishly attempt to steer the topic in another direction, but usually to no avail.
(more…)

The Bitter Tears of Jessica Savitch

By Emily Carney

“I very much wanted to be accepted by my peers, to be considered a serious journalist.”
—Jessica Savitch

Photo from People archive

Due to dire economic circumstances across the US in the last few years, and particularly in early 2009, there has been a decline in the television news audience nationally and locally. Many TV stations and networks have downsized considerably; it certainly helps one who desires to carve out a niche in broadcast news to have an extremely impressive CV in reporting and anchoring. The ultimate cautionary tale in how not to conduct a network news career continues to be the final, sad slide of Jessica Savitch.
(more…)

LOST: Why I Never Left The Island & Why You Need To Go Back

By M. Bevis

I’m not a big fan of television; you might even say that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve removed daily TV consumption from my life to the point where it is almost totally absent. I just can’t seem to sit through an entire show these days, mostly due to incessant advertising and the seizure-inducing graphics and attendant volume. But as a reformed couch potato, it isn’t easy kicking the habit. I still get my required fix of quality programming via the web or DVD. When my TV is actually switched on, you might catch me watching the news, or maybe the odd PBS special. But there is one show that always commands the remote, the only show that I am hopelessly, unapologetically addicted to: LOST.
(more…)

Commanding Cobra: An Interview With Cobra Commander

Interviewed by Megashaun

After recently finding a blog written by Cobra Commander in which he laments many of his boring day-to-day activities, I thought he would make an interesting interview subject. Getting in touch with him wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. The email address listed on his blog seemed to be to an unattended mailbox. My first attempt at communication with him went something like this:
(more…)

Popshifter‘s Best Of Lists

Pete Best

Most publications give you their “Best Of” and “Top Ten” lists in their December issues. But what about giving props to of all the great things you embraced in the penultimate month of the year?

That’s why Popshifter has decided to provide you with our favorites now, so that you can add them to your list of “Things To Check Out In 2009.”

In addition to the lists our staff compiled, we’ve also posted the lists from some very special guest contributors.

Enjoy!
(more…)

Top Five: TV’s Female Role Models

By Michelle Patterson

I want to lavish praise upon a few of my new favorite strong female role models on the small-screen. More realistic than the perfectly-tousled china dolls of Gossip Girl (although dammit, do I love me some Blair!) and much smarter than the featured bad actress of the week on Supernatural, I’m relieved to know that young girls can and do attempt to be like the women they see on their televisions when these types of characters exist. Ladies who have the required sass and the ability to kick-ass, but who also bring across the most poignant and heart-breaking moments are my favorite kinds. The following are my top five female role models on television.
(more…)