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Television

'Gossip Girl's' Terrible, Horrible, Elitist, Misogynist Finale

By Judy Berman on

Last night, Gossip Girl went smugly into that glittery night. After six seasons and a seismic economic shift that rendered it suddenly irrelevant just over a year into its run, a limping teen drama that has recently had trouble exceeding a million viewers said its last “XOXO.” It’s been obvious for a while that the finale would be silly and superfluous and perfunctory, and it wasn’t hard to guess that its ever-present elitism would manifest in some vaguely horrifying manner. But who could have predicted the show would also end on such a misogynistic note? (For the few who are still watching Gossip Girl, expect spoilers below.) … Read More

Television

TV Actors Who Badmouthed Their Own Shows

By Alison Nastasi on

Hollywood has its share of actors who have regretted accepting roles that were embarrassing, but how bad do things have to get for a star to bad-mouth a project? What about an entire television series? We saw that happen yesterday when Two and a Half Men star Angus T. Jones closed one chapter in his life to start a new one. It seems that Jones has found God, which means he wants nothing to do with the “filth” that is the Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn-created sitcom. Even though Jones became the highest paid child star in television several years ago, he wants to get out of his $350,000 an episode contract so he can “walk with God.” We share more about his kerfuffle with the series after the break, and feature other TV actors who bad-mouthed their own shows. Tell us what names you’d add to the list in the comments section. … Read More

Television

10 TV Shows Better Than the Books They Were Based On

By Tom Hawking on

So if you’re celebrating your birthday today, you share it with Charlaine Harris, she who gave the world the insanely successful Sookie Stackhouse novels and thus, indirectly, also the joys of True Blood. As you’ve probably noted if you read Flavorwire at all regularly, we’re borderline obsessed with True Blood, and its success got us thinking of the slew of TV shows based on books that have emerged in the last few years — and, in particular, those that have defied the old adage that the book is always better. We’ve collected a bunch of shows that we reckon have transcended their literary origins — can you think of any other shows that are better than the books they’re based on? (And before you go all crazy in the comments, a disclaimer: we said “better.” We’re not necessarily claiming the books in question are bad — although some most definitely are — just that the TV series they spawned was/is better. OK? Carry on.) … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Musical theater geeks, drop everything: A new international trailer for Les Misérables has landed online, and unlike the previous teaser, it includes juicy snippets of “One Day More” and “Do You Hear The People Sing?” Are we the only ones getting chills?

2. A benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy called… Read More

Fashion

The Fug Report: The Highs and Lows from the Week in Fashion

By Caroline Stanley on

Editor’s note: Welcome to The Fug Report! Each week our fashion blogger friends Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the sartorial geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself, will feature some of the most memorable looks of the week in this space. We hope you enjoy it!

This week on Go Fug Yourself, we enjoyed all… Read More

Television

9 Signs a Teen TV Show Has Exceeded Its Expiration Date

By Judy Berman on

Glee, whose fourth season premieres tonight, is at a crossroads. At this point, the once-revolutionary musical comedy-drama has alienated most of the critics (and, judging by its falling ratings, some of the viewers) who once rallied around its quirky storylines and underdog characters. Perhaps that’s why, during May’s upfronts, creator Ryan Murphy announced that the show will be a bit different this year, splitting its focus to both remain at William McKinley High and follow some newly graduated characters to performing arts school in New York. Whatever the cause behind the change turns out to be, the show is clearly experiencing some growing pains. So, while we hope Glee will get it together in Season 4, we think it’s only fair to provide viewers with a (spoiler-filled) guide to spotting a teen TV show that has exceeded its expiration date. … Read More

Television

A Selection of Iconic TV Character Audition Tapes

By Judy Berman on

Each September brings a flood of new shows, the best of which let us inside the world of unique and fascinating characters. But before we meet such memorable casts as those that populate Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Lost, the actors who play those iconic roles have to convince casting agents and producers that they’re the best women and men for the job. Although far too few audition tapes are made public, we’ve tracked down some of the most interesting ones out there, each telling in its own way. Now, if only we could get AMC to give us Jon Hamm’s Don Draper casting video, we’d be totally set. … Read More

Television

TV’s Greatest High School Nerd Transformations

By Michelle Rafferty on

With the recent Bunheads finale, the fast-approaching end of Awkward’s second season, and a promising Inbetweeners reboot, we confess we’ve gotten caught up in a lot of teen angst these past few weeks. So since we’re in the state of mind, we decided to look at some of the great high school series in television history and their nerd spawn. Like the teenage protagonists of the aforementioned shows, these characters all started out uncool, insecure, and/or sartorially challenged. And then of course, they grew up. You can click through for some before and after shots we dug up, and hope you’ll let us know about any great geek transformations we might have missed. And now, we’ll be making our way back to the couch for more adolescent love triangles, camera phone farce, and woefully instructive tales of sex.  … Read More

Television

TV’s All-Time Greatest Himbos

By Judy Berman on

Damn those short HBO seasons. This year’s True Blood run seems like it just started, yet we’re now only three days away from the finale. We enjoyed this season a great deal, the Vampire Authority’s internal intrigue providing a welcome break from Sookie Stackhouse’s supernatural love triangle — not to mention a surprisingly insightful commentary on what happens when church and state mingle. But one character whose development has remained fairly unexamined this season is Sookie’s brother, Jason. Originally presented as an empty-headed looker with a womanizing streak, he’s recently turned the himbo stereotype on its head. To celebrate his under-the-radar evolution (and the fact that he’s still sometimes a little too stupid for his own good), we’ve collected a selection of TV’s all-time greatest male bimbos — or “himbos” — most of whom aren’t nearly as multi-dimensional. … Read More

Books

Staff Confessions: Our Favorite Guilty Pleasure Reads

By Emily Temple on

We all try to read books that enlighten us, teach us something about the world, or give us insights we might otherwise have missed. We think it’s important to read great literature and culturally important works. But let’s be honest: we also want to read books that entertain the crap out of us. And sure, we may judge other people on what they read — whether it’s books that could have us running for the hills or sidling up with our sexiest face on — but that doesn’t mean we’re saints ourselves. Just like anyone else, we indulge in guilty pleasure reading: books we know are about as good for us as an enormous chocolate sundae, but also equally delicious. Click through to see some of our most treasured lowbrow treats, and then if you feel emboldened, admit to your own guilty pleasure reads in the comments. … Read More