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hese were my 10 favorite TV series of 2019, a year that saw the continued dominance of streaming services and the rise to prominence of standalone miniseries, but also a few stalwart network favorites:John’s top 10 TV shows of 2019
John’s and Shaune’s 20 favorite TV shows of the 2010s (Commentary)
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n chronological order, these were our 20 favorite TV shows of the 2010s:Continue reading “John’s and Shaune’s 20 favorite TV shows of the 2010s (Commentary)”
First episode impressions: ‘Nancy Drew’ (TV review)
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imilar to what The CW did with “Riverdale” a few years ago, “Nancy Drew” (Wednesdays, CW) has been updated for modern times, and out of the gates, it’s refreshingly less silly than what “Riverdale” turned into. The mix isn’t precisely what I look for: It’s much more contemporary than it is a throwback, and it has a supernatural element that cuts into Nancy’s meat-and-potatoes clue gathering. But it’s not bad, and I can imagine enough people will like this version of Nancy that it could define the sleuth for this generation.Continue reading “First episode impressions: ‘Nancy Drew’ (TV review)”
First episode impressions: ‘Batwoman’ (TV review)
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atwoman” (Sundays, CW) is the 17th current show produced by Greg Berlanti – that’s not a joke for the sake of exaggeration, he really does produce 17 shows that are currently on the air – and it’s as straight down the middle as all the others. Bruce Wayne’s cousin, Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose), arrives as a slickly packaged superhero, perfectly filling out her suit – tailored by Luke Fox (son of Lucius, I imagine) – and ready to kick butt alongside The CW’s other DC superheroes (This is series No. 6).Continue reading “First episode impressions: ‘Batwoman’ (TV review)”
Fall TV 2019: After watching the trailers, I’m bananas for some of these shows, not so much for others (Commentary)
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watched the trailers of some notable fall TV premieres so you don’t have to (but they are embedded here if you want to). Here are my thoughts on each, along with a “Go Bananas” Level (on a 10-point scale) of how excited I am for the series. All times Eastern:First episode impressions: ‘iZombie’ Season 5 (TV review)
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ast season, when “iZombie” constructed its new reality wherein the U.S. government and the Fillmore Graves corporation team up to keep zombies and humans behind a wall in Seattle, I thought “This can’t last.” As “iZombie’s” fifth and final season (8 p.m. Eastern Thursdays on The CW) opens, we’re starting to see the specifics of why it can’t last. Meanwhile, creators Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright are maintaining their delicate balance wherein Liv Moore (Rose McIver) and newly zombified Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) behave in humorous ways depending on whose brain they most recently consumed.Continue reading “First episode impressions: ‘iZombie’ Season 5 (TV review)”
The top 100 ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ songs, ranked (TV commentary)
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razy Ex-Girlfriend” recently wrapped an amazing four-season run with Rebecca Bunch (co-creator Rachel Bloom) deciding to pursue love – as in her love of writing songs, but now she’ll do it on paper instead of in her head. As fans know, not all of the 150 to 300 songs (depending on how you count them) from “CXG’s” run were in Rebecca’s head, meaning that Josh, Greg, Nathaniel, Paula, Heather, Darryl, etc. also did their share of internal songwriting.Continue reading “The top 100 ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ songs, ranked (TV commentary)”
‘Roswell, New Mexico’ is a rare example of a reboot done right (TV commentary)
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generally reject reboots of my favorite franchises, but I flat-out love “Roswell, New Mexico,” The CW’s reboot of my beloved “Roswell” (1999-2002). So I should explain why this is. First of all, it’s really well made, with creator Carina Adly MacKenzie and her team showing respect and knowledge of the original material. Secondly, it doesn’t remake the original story; it plays with the same game pieces but has plenty of reasons to exist on its own. Third, it has a distinct title, making it easier to avoid confusion. And fourth, it didn’t cancel an ongoing story in order to start this new one; the original story was wrapped up in books in 2003.Continue reading “‘Roswell, New Mexico’ is a rare example of a reboot done right (TV commentary)”
First episode impressions: ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ (TV review)
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oswell, New Mexico” (9 p.m. Eastern Tuesdays on The CW) is the latest in this decade’s mostly unfortunate trend of rebooting things we love that were already perfect. While I resist with almost every fiber of my being the idea of anyone other than Jason Behr and Shiri Appleby being called Max and Liz, I approached the pilot episode with an open mind and I admit it held my attention. What’s hard to parse out is: How much of my enjoyment comes from noting similarities and differences to “Roswell” Classic (1999-2002, WB/UPN) and how much comes from “RNM” being good in its own right?Continue reading “First episode impressions: ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ (TV review)”
Which is the less bad show? ‘Black Lightning’ vs. ‘The Gifted’ (TV commentary)
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n the tradition of legendary matchups such as “The Cape” vs. “No Ordinary Family,” “Almost Human” vs. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Riverdale” vs. “Supergirl,” I ask the question on the mind of every fan of middle-of-the-road superhero television: Which is the less bad show – The CW’s “Black Lightning” or Fox’s “The Gifted?” Rather than go by gut feeling, let’s break down these sophomore sci-fi series by category.Continue reading “Which is the less bad show? ‘Black Lightning’ vs. ‘The Gifted’ (TV commentary)”