From True To False And Back Again: Go Ask Alice

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Issues, My Dream Is On The Screen, Retrovirus, TV |

By Less Lee Moore

“This motion picture is based on the authentic diary of a 15-year-old American girl. The only alterations have been those necessitated by considerations of length and acceptability for family viewing.”
—Opening credits of Go Ask Alice

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Fab Films, Terrible TV: When “Based On The Movie” Goes Wrong

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Cartoons, Issues, Movies, My Dream Is On The Screen, TV |

By Cait Brennan

Nothing succeeds like success, especially in Hollywood, California, USA. The vast echo chamber that is the Hollywood establishment loves nothing more than to recycle some easily packaged, cloyingly familiar property into remakes, reboots, reimaginings, musicals, ancillary merchandise, and Spider-Man Ham Sandwiches. Although the practice has faded in recent years, for much of TV’s life, enterprising producers have been adapting hit films into television shows—shows that were often less than successful. Here’s a small sampling of the worst film-to-TV adaptations.
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Saddle Shoes and Winnipeg Tuxedos: Fashion In Twin Peaks

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Issues, My Dream Is On The Screen, TV, We Miss The Nineties |

By Chelsea Spear

saddle shoes

Watching Twin Peaks from a remove of over twenty years conjures a rush of emotions: The tragedy of an innocent’s brutal murder, the suspense of unraveling the mystery, the fear of the uncanny, and the occasional revulsion at the wardrobe. Holy angora, viewers may think. Did people actually dress like that in the early ’90s?

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Sleaze-O-Rama: Remembering the Halcyon Days of the Daytime Talk Show

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Issues, My Dream Is On The Screen, TV, We Miss The Nineties |

By Jesse Roth

The conclusion of Oprah‘s 25-year run on daytime television was heralded as the end of an era in several respects. Never again are we likely to see a media figure with as much power and widespread appeal as the mighty O. She was the figurehead of a special daytime ruling class, one that was seemingly overthrown by changing tastes long before she was willing to abdicate the throne. Despite her attempts to distance herself from her early years, enough people remember Oprah as a proud member (along with the likes of Geraldo Rivera and Morton Downey, Jr.) of the inaugural class of daytime sleaze, perverting a genre once owned by the legendary Phil Donahue. Though the daytime talk show genre is still kicking around the airwaves, its power and impact has been greatly reduced, crushed by the one-two punch of reality television and social media.

oprah satan

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Skating The Edge With Aeon Flux

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Cartoons, Feminism, Issues, My Dream Is On The Screen, Science Fiction, TV, Underground/Cult, We Miss The Nineties |

By Kai Shuart

At first blush, television seems a grossly distorted lens through which to examine philosophical questions. Every television show that comes through our tablets, computers, and (decreasingly) television sets is so overblown, and, well, downright Hollywood, how can it be the catalyst for examining the deeper questions of life? It’s entertainment; it’s only supposed to hang around between the time the opening credits start and the closing credits end.
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A Manufactured Image With No Philosophies: The Rock Band Sitcom

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Issues, Music, My Dream Is On The Screen, TV |

By Cait Brennan

elvis tv guide

It’s no coincidence that television and rock and roll came of age together. Starting in the American ’50s, a demographic tsunami of young people eager to embrace new technologies and new sounds launched one hell of a cultural transformation. Postwar advances in affordable electronics put television’s sitcoms in every home. Cultural cross-pollination put rock and roll records into the hands of eager teen listeners. When that revolutionary new sound met that unprecedented distribution medium, it’s only natural that those two great tastes ended up tasting great together.
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Just For Fun: Memories Of SCTV

Published on July 30th, 2011 in: Canadian Content, Comedy, Issues, My Dream Is On The Screen, Retrovirus, TV |

By Emily Carney

Growing up in the early 1980s, television comedy was all about Saturday Night Live on NBC. Television sketch comedy was still in its infancy. SNL underwent sort of a strange period between 1981 and 1982 with the addition of entertainers like Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo, who elevated the show from being utterly boring and routine after the departure of the “Original Prime Time Players.” However, another television comedy show entered the canon in 1981, imported from Canada. Second City Television (or more commonly known as SCTV) became the “cult” antithesis of SNL, featuring mainly Canadian performers. In many ways, SCTV was “smarter” and more hilarious than its American counterpart, and here’s why.
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Shonen Knife, Osaka Ramones: Tribute To The Ramones

Published on July 19th, 2011 in: Culture Shock, Current Faves, Feminism, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews |

By Matt Keeley

sk osaka ramones

Sometimes the redundant can be awesome. Shonen Knife‘s own music is quite Ramonesy, so some out there might not see the point of them doing a full album of Ramones covers. Those people who I may have just made up are stupid. Shonen Knife are awesome, as are the Ramones. How can you go wrong with an album of Shonen Knife—a band that was dubbed the “Osaka Ramones” by a Ramone himself—doing Ramones covers? You can’t. QED.
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NRBQ, Keep This Love Goin’

Published on July 19th, 2011 in: Current Faves, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews |

By Danny R. Phillips

nrbq keep this love goin'

NRBQ is the beast that refuses to die. Formed in the ’60s by Terry Adams, the band has been making good ol’ bar party music ever since, despite numerous lineup changes, a bout with throat cancer, changing times, and changing flavors. With Keep This Love Goin’ NRBQ are back doing the same as they always have, and that’s just fine.
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Tony Bennett, The Best Of The Improv Recordings

Published on July 12th, 2011 in: Current Faves, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews |

By Paul Casey

tony bennett improv

“For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more. There’s a feeling in back of it.”
—Frank Sinatra in Life magazine, 1965

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