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Which ‘True Blood’ Character Drove Us Craziest This Week?

By Judy Berman on

No TV show says summer to us more than True Blood, its Southern Gothic atmosphere and pulpy pleasures providing the perfect complement to sweaty evenings spent drinking mint juleps at home after another exhausting day in the hot sun. But while we love the people — and supernatural creatures — of Bon Temps and want them to never, ever change, we’ve noticed over the years that Sookie, Bill, and co. have a tendency to annoy the crap out of us. So, in the spirit of good-natured complaining about a show that we actually adore, every week this season we’ll be shouting out the three characters who drove us craziest, and also anointing the episode’s single most campily awesome character. Find out who made us groan this time, when the baby vamps rampaged and the US government got involved, below. … Read More

Television

Exclusive Supercut: TV’s Year of Kick-Ass Women

By Michelle Rafferty on

This Sunday’s Political Animals finale marks the near-end of one great year in television — specifically for the ladies. What was supposed to be the year of “the sad men,” ended up being the year of women kicking ass, in their jobs, on the battlefield, and (at the risk of sounding cheesy) in being true to themselves. Yes, Liz Lemon and Jess Day have received their share of flack, but they own their weirdness, and not in a faux-geek way (see Newsroom‘s Maggie Jordan dodge those bullets). From Pawnee and Capitol Hill to Westeros and beyond, television’s past year of intelligent, empowered, and awesomely flawed female characters is nearly enough to make us forget Sorkin’s “women problem,” which has been stealing our attention for over the past month (some publications have even kept tabs with their own Sorkin Sexism Watch). So here’s to the ladies, and what we hope will be an even better season beginning in September. If you’d like to pay tribute to your own personal favorite TV goddess, please do so in the comments. … Read More

Television

25 Behind-the-Scenes TV Photos That Will Mess With Your Mind

By Judy Berman on

Last week, we took a look at some of Hollywood’s most mind-blowing behind-the-scenes movie photos, and that post left us wondering whether those images might have equally impressive TV equivalents. Good news: they do. Despite the fact that film budgets tend to run higher than their small-screen counterparts, television has plenty of its own magic that’s ripe for elucidating (or, you know, ruining). After the jump, we collect 25 behind-the-scenes TV photos that are sure to change how you see your favorite shows. Find out how Breaking Bad gets its famously crazy point-of-view shots, witness True Blood vampires on set in broad daylight, learn what those Mad Men are really smoking, peek into the not-so-intimate bedroom of Friday Night Lights’ Mr. and Mrs. Coach, and watch living characters hang out with dead ones (or just their pint-size doppelgängers) in our gallery. … Read More

Television

Which ‘True Blood’ Character Drove Us Craziest This Week?

By Judy Berman on

No TV show says summer to us more than True Blood, its Southern Gothic atmosphere and pulpy pleasures providing the perfect complement to sweaty evenings spent drinking mint juleps at home after another exhausting day in the hot sun. But while we love the people — and supernatural creatures — of Bon Temps and want them to never, ever change, we’ve noticed over the years that Sookie, Bill, and co. have a tendency to annoy the crap out of us. So, in the spirit of good-natured complaining about a show that we actually adore, every week this season we’ll be shouting out the three characters who drove us craziest, and also anointing the episode’s single most campily awesome character. Find out who made us groan this time, when Sookie got up close and personal with pigs while Salome did what Salome so famously does best, below. … Read More

Television

The 20 Best Opening Scenes in Television

By Michelle Rafferty on

Although we’re about settled into TV’s second wave of summer programming — namely, Breaking Bad, Louie, and Political Animals — it’s impossible to get too comfortable. Thanks to Comic-Con and the TCA tour, buzz for fall 2012 is nearly in full swing and has us bracing for the series of snap judgements we’ll have to make about the new season of television. As many showrunners have pointed out, it’s unfortunate that a TV show only has a limited window to prove itself. At the same time, we can’t complain when a series starts out with a bang. And, as shows like Breaking Bad have proved, a stellar start and well-plotted story development don’t have to be mutually exclusive. To follow up our recent look at the best opening scenes in cinema, we decided to recall some of the best TV pilot opens, taking into account style, innovation, and sheer ability to capture the attention of easily distracted brains. Have a favorite we missed? Please let us know in the comments! … Read More

Film

‘True Blood’s’ Nelsan Ellis to Play Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Judy Berman on

No True Blood character is more beloved than Lafayette Reynolds, who was slated to die at the end of the first season but is still around and getting into trouble as a medium thanks to his massive popularity among the show’s fans — which is, more than anything, due to Nelsan Ellis’ likable and nuanced… Read More

Television

Which ‘True Blood’ Character Drove Us Craziest This Week?

By Judy Berman on

No TV show says summer to us more than True Blood, its Southern Gothic atmosphere and pulpy pleasures providing the perfect complement to sweaty evenings spent drinking mint juleps at home after another exhausting day in the hot sun. But while we love the people — and supernatural creatures — of Bon Temps and want them to never, ever change, we’ve noticed over the years that Sookie, Bill, and co. have a tendency to annoy the crap out of us. So, in the spirit of good-natured complaining about a show that we actually adore, every week this season we’ll be shouting out the three characters who drove us craziest, and also anointing the episode’s single most campily awesome character. Find out who made us groan this time, when Lafayette healed himself in a somewhat worrisome way and we learned that Einstein was half fairy, below. … 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

Television

Which ‘True Blood’ Character Drove Us Craziest This Week?

By Judy Berman on

No TV show says summer to us more than True Blood, its Southern Gothic atmosphere and pulpy pleasures providing the perfect complement to sweaty evenings spent drinking mint juleps at home after another exhausting day in the hot sun. But while we love the people — and supernatural creatures — of Bon Temps and want them to never, ever change, we’ve noticed over the years that Sookie, Bill, and co. have a tendency to annoy the crap out of us. So, in the spirit of good-natured complaining about a show that we actually adore, every week this season we’ll be shouting out the three characters who drove us craziest, and also anointing the episode’s single most campily awesome character. Find out who made us groan this time, when Lafayette was dramatically rendered speechless and a scantily clad Tara told off her holy rolling mother, below. … Read More

Television

Which ‘True Blood’ Character Drove Us Craziest This Week?

By Judy Berman on

No TV show says summer to us more than True Blood, its Southern Gothic atmosphere and pulpy pleasures providing the perfect complement to sweaty evenings spent drinking mint juleps at home after another exhausting day in the hot sun. But while we love the people — and supernatural creatures — of Bon Temps and want them to never, ever change, we’ve noticed over the years that Sookie, Bill, and co. have a tendency to annoy the crap out of us. So, in the spirit of good-natured complaining about a show that we actually adore, every week this season we’ll be shouting out the three characters who drove us craziest, and also anointing the episode’s single most campily awesome character. Find out who made us groan this time, when Bill and Eric failed at glamoring Sookie and Alcide before Russell Edgington’s capture took an unexpected turn, below. … Read More