In the end, while individual plot points, objects, and places are important for fans to recognize, the most successful approach seems to come about when the writer extrapolates the character’s underlying identity, exploring those aspects that remain the same in the new setting, and how they will manifest.
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Tags: Alternative Universe, fan fiction, fanfic, Sherlock, Steven Moffat
Posted in Current Events, TV | Comments Off on Transformation, Adaptation, Derivation? Moffat’s Sherlock and the Art of AUs
The Real World: Back to New Orleans, like Treme, brings to life how "authentic" New Orleans has taken on new and often multiple meanings for tourists, volunteers, and television watchers
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Tags: David Simon, Jonathan Murray, Kermit Ruffins, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, Real World: Back to New Orleans, The Real World, Treme, verisimilitude
Posted in Current Events, Perspectives, TV | 7 Comments »
Robert Pattinson, like Brando and Dean before him, doesn't play by the star promotion rules and yet is a heartthrob because he appeals to heartthrob-hungry girls in unexpected ways.
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Tags: Classic Hollywood, Eclipse, Edward Pattinson, fandom, heartthrob, Hedda Hopper, James Dean, Kristen Stewart, Louella Parsons, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Photoplay, star promotion, Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, Film | 2 Comments »
If "Africa" exists, it is only in brief moments, so to pity Africa and feel sorry for "its" loss is to fall into a nasty discursive trap.
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Tags: Africa, football, Ghana, Malawi, nationalism, soccer, World Cup
Posted in Current Events, Perspectives, TV | 3 Comments »
FX's Louie and new possibilities for half-hour television comedy.
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Tags: FX, HBO, Louis C.K., Seinfeld, sitcom, stand-up comedy
Posted in Current Events, Industry, Industry, Perspectives, TV, TV | 1 Comment »
International audiences seem to dig Jake Gyllenhaal’s abs more than Americans do – but is that enough to save the Prince of Persia film franchise?
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Tags: box office, film franchise, Prince of Persia, sequels
Posted in Current Events, Film, Global, Industry | 2 Comments »
The information and communication technologies for development (ITC4D) initiative can and should be more than developmentalism. How can we think more broadly about the pleasures of engaging with emerging media?
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Tags: digital media, fandom
Posted in Current Events, Global, Internet, Technology | Comments Off on Misreading pleasure: from pro-social soaps to ICT4D
“Funk” exemplified everything I’ve come to expect from Glee: a confusing mix of rousing musical performances and out of place racist/sexist/heterosexist jokes
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Tags: Glee, Representation
Posted in Columns, Current Events, Glee Club, TV | 11 Comments »
The Eurovision Song Contest has the unparalleled capacity to make that skeleton of nationalism a little less scary – by putting it into a camp costume and acoustically accompanying it with pop music
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Tags: Eurovision Song Contest, nationalism, nationality
Posted in Current Events, Music, TV | 1 Comment »
Disney’s announcement that it will be replacing cable channel Soapnet with a new preschool channel has generated serious concerns for U.S. soap viewers.
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Tags: Disney, DVRs, ratings, soap opera, SOAPnet
Posted in Current Events, Industry, TV | Comments Off on Losing SOAPnet
Friday, Gary Coleman passed away after what appeared to be, by most accounts, an incredibly difficult 42 years, many of which were spent in an unsuccessful attempt to stay out of the spotlight and live as normal a life as humanly possible.
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Tags: child star, Gary Coleman, obituary, TV
Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, TV | 4 Comments »
Is the virtual watercooler making timeshifting impossible? Can you have your DVR and Twitter too?
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Tags: DVRs, technology, TVittering, Twitter
Posted in Perspectives, Technology, TV | 6 Comments »
It appears that in season six the world inside The Hills has effectively merged with the world outside The Hills. For this jaded fan, The Hills is once again must-see TV.
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Tags: Heidi Montag, reality television, The Hills
Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, Perspectives, TV | 2 Comments »
How often this season have we seen ‘tween girls, and their forty-something moms, blamed for the sorry state of American Idol?
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Tags: American Idol, Crystal Bowersox, girls, HVAC, Lee DeWyze, pop music, soft rock, tweens
Posted in Current Events, Music, TV | 7 Comments »
The themed episodes often bury narrative and character development, but this week saw a powerful blending of Lady Gaga’s music and persona and the storyline. Her promotion of both over-the-top performance and being a “freak” allowed the show to return to one of its favorite themes.
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Tags: Glee, Lady Gaga, musical, performance, television, theatricality
Posted in Columns, Current Events, Glee Club, TV | 20 Comments »