TV Talk

Read after the jump if your interested in hearing how he came up with "Red Wedding" (Contains mild spoilers) - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I sort of thought this might happen this year. - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

I have a feeling that they will explain it away, by saying that when River gave the Doctor her regenerations the doctor gained more regenerations somehow. - Bluesun 2600

"My, how sporadic, out-of-sequence time does fly. It was five years ago today that the sci-fi viewing public got its first glimpse of the mysterious (and good-lookin’) Professor River Song, the pseudo-non-companion of our favorite Time Lord. On May 31st, 2008, the first episode in which she appeared, “The Silence in the Library” premiered on BBC One, back before it aired day-and-date in the US. Since then, River (played by the fantastic Alex Kingston) has appeared in 13 episodes (plus a few epilogues and stuff), effectively giving her her own series. She is 100% a creation of writer Steven Moffat, and she’s one of the very few companions who has only ever been written by one person. She’s also the only character in Doctor Who history to have their birth and (ostensible) death shown onscreen, albeit in the wrong order. As this is her fifth anniversary, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the life and times of River Song in her own chronological order, as best we know it." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Several people in the Arrested family colorfully described their first visit to the writers' room, but our favorite may come courtesy of David Cross."You know the murder scene where they go to the psycho killer's apartment and he's got all this crazy s-- mapped out? That's what it looked like," he says. "Post-it notes and index cards all across the three walls in this big conference room. Yarn stretching from one thing to another and pinned in one place, and then a sharp angular uptick to the Lucille character and down. And then there's a different-colored yarn that intersects and weaves in. It took him 25 minutes to explain what I was looking at. And I still didn't get everything. When you see that, of course it has to be a TV show. There's no way else to do this."" - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Dan Harmon just told the audience of his podcast Harmontown that he has been asked to return to Community! As soon as Dan said it, he asked that it be edited out of the podcast and it was just for us audience members(and I wasn't going to say a word) but soon after that Dan said "Ahhh Fuck it. I don't care who knows!" " - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

What a schmuck I was to blow off going to Harmontown tonight. =( - Andrew C (✓)

"Indeed, when we called Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz to ask about the gestation of some of our favorite jokes, the stories behind them made them all funnier. So read on for his tales of the inspiration behind the Cornballer, Tobias's dalliance with the Blue Man Group, Carl Weathers's cheapness, and more." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

awesome. - Marie

"He's earned the moniker of feminist seemingly through just the creation of strong female characters alone. But, as friend and scholar Jake says, "Having a girl beat up guys is not equivalent to a strong female character when they ALWAYS, CONSTANTLY depend on men." So true! Let's consider some of his body of work as we undertake the Topic that Made the Fanboys Cry: Joss Whedon's feminism." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I think the article makes some really good points, but I also think it completely misses the larger picture (especially when it comes to BTVS): Whedon wrote a show about high school/college-aged people. No matter how strong or independent they are, no matter how feminist they are, they're still teenagers/young adults, and they're still human. They're inherently going to still be... more... - DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE

"There's a version of the American Office that's more aligned with its British forefather, one that has always lurked just beneath the surface and is more upsetting than any drama: a show about dead-end people clinging to petty distractions and each other to stop from falling completely into despair. Fans rightfully point to Michael's exit -- and particularly to Steve Carell's otherworldly chemistry with the brilliant Amy Ryan -- as the last time The Office truly soared. But The Office was never about soaring. More than anything, it was about gliding -- which is really just a prettier word for coasting." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"For 30 years, NBC has maintained an unprecedented streak of comedy excellence in the 9 p.m. hour on Thursdays. From Cheers to Seinfeld and The Office, these shows weren't just the best sitcoms of their eras, they helped define them. [...] But this week, NBC announced that it's replacing The Office in September with Sean Saves the World, a broadly mawkish, backward-looking half-hour... more... - Andrew C (✓)

I found myself actually happy with the finale. - Jed Harris-Keith from iPhone

*amazing* - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I really like this Mystery. It deals with 4 former WWII Code Breakers who have gone on to very ordain lives & thanks to England's Secrets Act they have never told their loved ones of their actions during the war. Now one of them thinks she has found the key to solving a series of murders. And gathers her friends from Bletchley to help her solve these murders. Unfortunately, the first episode is set to expire on PBS' video page tomorrow. But if you have the time between today and tomorrow I recommend watching it. It's a 3 part series the first part is up at the moment. It doesn't look like PBS has posted the other two installment yet. Although the entire series looks to have aired in Canada already. #Mystery #Video #TV #Streaming - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

The Bletchley Circle Series 2 to return to ITV1 Autumn 2013 (http://www.world-productions.com/externa...). Here's to hoping that this is more than an internet rumor. - Bluesun 2600

Paul Scheer recreates moments from the Arsenio Hall Show. Truly, there are things I never knew I wanted until someone went and made them. - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Oh, (mother)boy, do we have a treat for you: A clip from the new season of Arrested Development! The following scene was screened during panels at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour and SXSW, and a snippet of it will appear in one of the 15 episodes that Netflix will release on May 26. Today, you get to watch this outtake, in which [spoilers]" - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Of course, there used to be another place to go for lively discussion among like-minded devotees, and you're looking at it. After wrecking the music industry and scaring the hell out of movies, the Internet actually saved television over the last decade. As shows began to take greater risks with storytelling, content, and serialization, the web served as a bubbling water cooler for debate and a boiling pressure cooker for anticipation. The DVR may have freed us from the shackles of time slots, but Twitter -- and an increasing phobia for spoilers -- put us all right back in the cage. In many ways, the second screen has become just as important as the first." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Investing in the cultivation of small-batch enthusiasts like a hipster distiller creates an audience, but it also creates an expectation of satisfaction in said audience. This self-congratulating relationship can lead not only to more employment opportunities for Chris Hardwick,8 but also a closed circuit of mediocrity. On the Huffington Post this week, Mo Ryan praised Syfy's latest... more... - Andrew C (✓)

"[9] It's fun to play an improvised game of Boggle with the announcement and see how many times you can spot the words "starship," "colonize," and "wormhole." First prize is a wedgie." - Andrew C (✓)

"Ready For Love is a catastrophe of a television show, a desperate attempt to cheaply create drama out of the sad, pathetic lives of women who seem to believe that they can find true love on a television show. It arises fully formed out of the idea that the problem with single women is that they are flawed--so the show is constructed of people who tell the women exactly what is wrong with them, over and over again, as they struggle to impress a monomaniacal narcissist who is only interested in advancing his tepid musical career. " - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

Not a lot of people, but it was NBC, so even ratings that would be low for anyone else aren't catastrophic. - Andrew C (✓)

"One of the reigning theories about Arrested Development's inability to garner a mass audience during its initial run--alongside the "unlikeable characters" argument and the David Icke-led conspiracy theory we just made up about Jessica Walter being a reptilian--was that the series' dense mythology and complicated web of foreshadowing, callbacks, and Easter eggs alienated casual viewers. That demand for the viewer's full attention cuts both ways: The show's upcoming Netflix revival wouldn't be possible without the fanatics who've pored over every second of the show's televised run, committing catchphrases to memory and requiring any online mention of the Bluth family to be peppered with quotes and references. Look it up: It's in The Patriot Act." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"To cope with the current Bachelor/ette/Pad void, I decided to watch Ready For Love because I thought it would be a hilarious substitute. In a funny turn of events, though, it turns out that Ready for Love is not a hilarious substitute for The Bachelor, it's like the evil version of The Bachelor that traveled here from a bleak, dystopian future in Hell." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I guess the silver lining here might be that - assuming America isn't yet ready for steaming garbage on TV - the upcoming failure of this show frees up yet more time on NBC for next season and therefore helps Community's chances. - Andrew C (✓)

Tomorrow's the puppet episode of Community! - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Talk about mixed messages: when Aereo first began offering consumers a way to get free network TV over the internet — on any device and on demand — CBS CEO Les Moonves said last year that the service wasn't causing him any loss of sleep. Fast forward to yesterday and executives from News Corp are warning that, if Aereo persists, Fox may pull programming off the free public airwaves and make it available only to paid cable subscribers." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"By the way, you know how NBC turned Hannibal into its first potential hit drama in eons? And you know how NBC desperately needs an identity and can't come up with any good original ideas? Why wouldn't they just turn 20 movies that we like into TV shows? For instance, I'd absolutely and unequivocally watch a Cast Away show. [...] Five other popular movies that could absolutely become NBC TV shows: Jerry Maguire (how great would the Tidwells be?); Bull Durham (I'm not entirely sure how this hasn't happened yet); Midnight Run (no-brainer -- just build it around Jack Walsh as a wise-cracking bounty hunter; you already know you're getting a four-star review from Alan Sepinwall no matter what happens); Dave (fake president pretending to be the real president -- COME ON, THIS WOULD WORK); and Big (chronicling 13-year-old Josh Baskin's rise to the top of the toy industry). I would watch all of those shows." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"And by the way, NBC? You can always just run back shows that you KNOW already worked. Kevin Wildes and I have spent multiple Half-Baked Ideas podcasts pitching a Cheers remake set in Chicago, only this time, Sam Malone is a former alcoholic star Blackhawks defenseman played by Vince Vaughn. Like that show isn't immediately going no. 1? And why wouldn't L.A. Law and ER just come back for a different generation? That could be your identity, NBC." - Andrew C (✓)

"Q: Do you realize Monica and Chandler's twins would be 9 this year, Phoebe's triplets are 14, Ben is 18, and Emma is 11 this year?!? Why can't they do the soap opera thing where their ages inexplicably jump 10 years and BOOM! we have a new sitcom. Seven 20-somethings living in NYC. Same writers, and Joey can stop in to hit on the girls. Why isn't NBC all over this??? --Steve, Burlington, ON SG: There's another one! Just give me Robert Greenblatt's job already. This is too easy." - Andrew C (✓)

Buncha loopy ideas here. I like most of 'em. - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"In a statement, departing host Leno said, "Congratulations Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage." [...] The network did not mention O'Brien's stint as the "Tonight Show" host in its press release about the Fallon transition, instead claiming that Leno has hosted "The Tonight Show" since 1992." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"But when you're the single breadwinner who drives a gas-guzzler and has two precocious TV children, sometimes you have to swallow your pride and do things Nancy Botwin/Weeds-style: namely, throw out any good sense to downsize and go for the quick big bucks to keep up." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I watched part of this show recently, and it was pretty tame stuff. - Eric - Too Hot

"Cablevision is the biggest threat looming off baseball's stern. Earlier this month, the New York provider filed a federal antitrust suit against Viacom, claiming that in order to carry Comedy Central and VH1, it was forced to buy channels like Logo and Palladia as well. According to the suit, Cablevision could always reject these demands. But Viacom wanted a $1 billion penalty in exchange for any exercise of free will. If the court rules against Viacom, cable and satellite may finally be able to offer packages to suit any price or taste. Baseball's welfare payments from non-fans will corrode. And with an audience in decline, remaining subscribers will be forced to spend that much more to compensate. Suddenly, that $200 bill could look like a going-out-of-business sale. A dying game will be introduced to Economics 101. It won't be a pleasant encounter." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

And so we start again... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"The late-night genre is the only one whose legacy means more to the on-camera talents than it does to the audience, at least on a conscious level. [...] only talk-show hosts take upon themselves the burden of history, vowing to carry on the tradition of Carson (who is most frequently cited), even as the demo they seek to reach says, baffled, "Carson? Carson /Daly/?"" - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"[on great or truly memorable moments on the Dick Cavett Show:] We always think of our own time as more vulgar and degraded than the pop culture that preceded it, but there was a period in talk-show land when talking meant something other than selling one's latest movie/TV show/book. - Andrew C (✓)

"The lovely Jenna-Louise Coleman sits down with Chris and Matt to talk about weird first dates, their favorite British and American TV shows, and being the new Companion on Doctor Who! The new Doctor Who premieres Saturday, March 30th at 8/7c as part of BBC America’s Supernatural Saturday, followed by Orphan Black at 9/8c and the premiere of The Nerdist TV show at 10/9c." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Celebrate Akira Kurosawa’s March 23 birthday with Hulu and the Criterion Collection. Until midnight on Sunday, all twenty-four of the legendary Japanese director’s films on Hulu are free of charge to nonsubscribers (with commercial interruptions, and only in the U.S.). It’s a great opportunity to watch both the iconic classics, like Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo, and lesser-known but enormously moving gems such as No Regrets for Our Youth, One Wonderful Sunday, and Dodes’ka-den. Also available is Kurosawa’s beautiful final film, Madadayo, not on Criterion Blu-ray or DVD. And remember, if you sign up for Hulu Plus for just $7.99 a month, you can see them all the time, ad-free! - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet