Archive for October, 2010

Simpsonic Business as Usual?

October 11, 2010
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Simpsonic Business as Usual?

Last night, the Banksy-directed opening credit sequence “couch gag” for The Simpsons took us into the sweatshop behind the franchise. As executive producer Al Jean noted, “This is what you get when you outsource.”
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Posted in Current Events, Global, Industry, TV | 20 Comments »

The Much(?) Anticipated Return of Caprica

October 9, 2010
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The Much(?) Anticipated Return of Caprica

Despite an appealing sense of inevitable narrative momentum, a long but more importantly uncertain wait makes it hard to feel excitement and anticipation for the mid-season return of this Battlestar spin-off.
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Posted in Current Events, Perspectives, TV, TV | 4 Comments »

Over the Rainbow: Selling the National Lottery in Post Celtic Tiger Ireland

October 8, 2010
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Over the Rainbow: Selling the National Lottery in Post Celtic Tiger Ireland

In a cultural climate in which many now pick up a newspaper or turn on the nightly news with a strong sense of foreboding, a distinctive new ad has appeared in cinemas, run before every feature film I’ve gone to see in recent weeks.
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Posted in Perspectives | 5 Comments »

Glee as Integrated Musical (Finally!)

October 7, 2010
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Glee as Integrated Musical (Finally!)

“Grilled Cheesus” is one of the few Glee episodes to not only establish, but also to play with, the opposition between dream world and real world in the musical.
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Posted in Columns, Glee Club, Perspectives, TV | 1 Comment »

End of an Era: NBC Post-Zucker?

October 6, 2010
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End of an Era: NBC Post-Zucker?

Zucker never managed to balance a love for the potential of television with a love for the bottom line. Indeed, his job description only expected the latter, but the great ones have managed to do both.
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Posted in Industry, Perspectives | 13 Comments »

Back from the Brink: The Return of Don Draper

October 5, 2010
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Back from the Brink: The Return of Don Draper

In "Chinese Wall," barriers between personal and professional lives continue to erode, and Mad Men's men begin to wrestle with these costs.
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Posted in Columns, Mad Men | 1 Comment »

Report From: Flow 2010 (#2)

October 5, 2010
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Report From: Flow 2010 (#2)

Given that Erin so eloquently captured the buzz of the scholarly conversations this weekend, I’m going to focus on some of the roundtables that I found most intellectually stimulating.
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Posted in Columns, Report From... | 1 Comment »

Report From: Flow 2010

October 4, 2010
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Report From: Flow 2010

The ability to facilitate dialogue not only within roundtables, but among them, seems to me the greatest strength of the Flow conference model.
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Posted in Columns, Report From... | 1 Comment »

Arthur Penn and Live Television Drama

October 3, 2010
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Arthur Penn and Live Television Drama

Director Arthur Penn, who passed away last week, is best remembered for his Broadway plays and Hollywood films, but his impressive work in television's live anthology dramas has been neglected.
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Posted in Film, Perspectives, TV | 7 Comments »