I opened the newsletter tonight thinking I'd do a snarky ranking of songs titled "Independence Day," only to realize there are a lot more than I realized. I was going to rank Bruce Springsteen, Martina McBride, and Elliott Smith and call it a day, but this
It's been a bit of a quiet week in the ol' mailbag. Remember to send in your questions! James writes, pivoting off my article on multi-camera sitcoms (which I will link to again!): One of my favorite sitcoms has always been the late lamented Sports Night: I
I posted an article today that I've been working on, off and on, for five years. I thought that number would provoke more contention, since it's a reported essay (in that I don't have a ton of quotes from outside sources), but people mostly
Sunday night, I tweeted that I was going to get to my Twin Peaks review late, because I was on a family outing that culminated in my parents combing through a large selection of women's belts at Target. (I never did confirm what they needed the belt for,
I've got company, so we're going to keep this week's mailbag short and/or sweet. Phillip writes: After watching the latest season of "Orange is the New Black," I'm struck again with how they employ the character-centric flashback device. This
As I said back in January, this should be the most exciting Emmy drama race in years. Longtime nominee Downton Abbey is over. Game of Thrones (which has won the last two years) is ineligible. And, even better, there are fully seven shows I would consider shoo-ins for a first-time
Hey, everyone. Sorry for the unexpected absences this summer. I've had a busier schedule than I was expecting, and summer hasn't even technically begun. So let's dive into your questions! James asks, referencing my most recent newsletter: Your comments made me wonder about something
In my early 20s, my best friend got married, to a girl from New Jersey. Only a few of us South Dakotans were able to make the trek out to Jersey for the wedding, but I was one of them. My friend group in high school was pretty tight, and
Hey, folks! I haven't done one of these in a couple of weeks for a variety of reasons, so the questions have been piling up. I'll try to get through at least a few of them tonight, even though I'm starting very late. K
Toward the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, a movie I mostly hated, I realized that I often had no clue why characters were doing things. I could venture guesses. I could tell what the movie wanted me to think. But I could never quite
It's been nearly six months since Taylor Swift stepped into a fallow corn field near Gallatin, Tennessee, and faded from existence, and her friends and family remain heartbroken, with few answers and more questions by the day. "I saw her in a dream," said a close
Dylan McDermott, the Fox executives assured all of us attending the network's upfront presentation, would be playing the breakout character of the 2017-18 TV season. He was going to pull an Andre Braugher, showing off previously unknown comedic gifts in an otherwise conventional sitcom. LA to Vegas was