The Chromecast by Google has been the center of attention since its recent debut. The small device allows you to stream music and videos from online apps and websites straight to your television. Best of all, at only $35, it’s much cheaper than most HDMI cables, more convenient too. However, when Google introduced this genius…
Vampires have long been a popular topic in fiction, but the craze has gotten out of hand since the terrible Twilight books and movies came out (although I maintain that the Cullens are not in fact vampires, but fairies). The series (and the money it made) has “inspired” a lot of film directors, authors, and…
I “cut the cord” from my cable provider a few years ago. I did an analysis of what shows I watched and how many I could get for free or through services like Hulu. Apparently I could get everything except A&E, CBS, and TLC. So I got a $10 digital antennae to get anything that…
Every fall an epic battle goes down. Most of us witness the brutal struggle and even have a part in determining which opponent emerges victorious, yet we don’t even realize it is happening. Much like the gladiators of old, these warriors fight to the death. Not all are evenly matched: some have strength and brawn,…
My younger sister and I slumped on the sofa, staring glumly at the cheerfully decorated Christmas tree. Our family’s smiles as they opened their presents just made us feel worse; they were totally oblivious to the world-shattering tragedy that had occurred the night before. One of our favorite TV shows ended it’s five season run…
Television, the great escape. TV takes us away from our daily lives and into whole new worlds. These worlds don’t have to be fantasy like Westeros, or dystopian like in The Walking Dead, to have the ability to take us away. Some of the most popular series actually parallel our daily lives, more specifically, our…
It’s hard to believe that the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls was over 13 years ago. Created by the wonderfully talented Amy Sherman-Palladino, Gilmore Girls tells the tale of Lorelai Gilmore, a single mother and her daughter, Rory living in a fictional town filled with colorful characters. There’s the bumbling Sookie St. James, rock-n-roll junkie…
If there’s anything I like about music competition shows, it’s the first round auditions. I’m always astounded by the fresh-faced talents we have in this world. Yes, even when they’re middle-aged and far from a spring chicken. It goes to show that it’s never too late to chase your dreams. I stop watching them during…
I’m a firm believer that, if done well, TV can be art. An episode can be like hundreds of brilliant paintings all moving and blending together into one masterpiece. The plot, characters, and dialog are like the skeleton and muscles of the episode, but it will never be complete or beautiful without the skin: cinematography….
Sometimes the writers really, really want us to like a character. All the other characters seem to love them, every episode revolves around their latest drama, and often they literally are The Chosen One. Entire storylines or even series are built on their super-duper specialness, and they are so integral to the series that we…
You sit and smile awkwardly as your guest animatedly recounts his pet dog’s dandruff issues. You don’t really want to hear about how he solved the unfortunate skin flakeage by adding dietary supplements to the dog’s nutrient deficient kibble, and you certainly don’t like the nagging suspicion that he doesn’t actually have a dog. In…
It’s been a good year for geeks. Over the last decade or so, many beloved cult TV shows have met an early demise because they didn’t appeal to the masses. Recently, however, geek culture has become more socially acceptable, and now I can’t walk down a hallway at my college without tripping over someone watching…
Eating spaghetti while watching Bones was a mistake, but it paled in comparison to the grave error I made in watching Fringe while eating chick pea soup which, apparently, strongly resembled the brains melting out of an unfortunate man’s orifices. I learned the hard way to never watch the show at dinnertime; the science fiction…
There are some tragedies people never fully recover from: the death of a loved one, a rough divorce, losing a job (provided it was one they actually liked), and the cancellation of their favorite TV show. People can become bitter, rage against the universe (or network) that brought them such misfortune, and complain about their…
It seems like every other show is getting a spinoff nowadays, and Supernatural is the latest to become a parent. The CW has announced that they ordered the pilot for a spinoff entitled Supernatural: Tribes. The new show will be set in Chicago and center around a war between a vengeful hunter and five monster…