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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 Collection of Great Art Made by TV Characters

By Michelle Rafferty on

We’ve done a fair amount of coverage on the burgeoning field of TV pop art in recent years, but we haven’t yet looked at the art directly from these fictional universes. From Jesse Pinkman’s Kanga-man and James Franco’s inexplicable self-portraits as “Franco” to Lily Aldrin’s nudes of both Marshall and Barney, we’ve rounded up the TV character art that has shocked, delighted, confused, and left us downright heartbroken. Have some professional criticism? Were Jesse Pinkman’s “lines” as great as Jane said they were? Is there a piece we didn’t include (and that you may or may not have facsimiled for your own wall)? Please share in the comments!  … Read More

Television

TV’s Most Hopeless, Angst-Ridden Romantics

By Caroline Stanley on

If you always secretly wished that The West Wing was a lot more soapy, then mark your calendars for Sunday night, when a new show called Political Animals premieres on USA. At the heart of this fun new series is the Hammond family, a political dynasty in the vein of the Kennedys, who are every bit as flawed and riddled by scandal. There’s also a clear homage to the Clintons happening here. Sigourney Weaver’s Elaine Barrish is basically Hillary Clinton with a much better stylist; meanwhile, Ciarán Hinds as two-term president and general good ol’ boy Bud Barrish is cut from the same cloth as Bill. As in real life, the on-screen relationship between this fictionalized version of the couple is hard to comprehend. Like Carla Gugino, who plays the family’s nemesis, journalist Susan Berg, we can’t help but wonder why a woman as strong as Elaine would put up with a cheating husband — but then, she’s far from the first TV character to let her heart rule over her head. Click through for a roundup of some of the most hopeless, angst-ridden romantics in recent television history. … Read More

Television

10 Unforgettable TV Summers We Never Got to See

By Michelle Rafferty on

At some point every Saved by the Bell fan has to decide where their allegiance lies: Are they Malibu Sands or Hawaiian Style? It’s one of those pop culture debates that’s the most fun to have because both summers had no bearing on anything (in Bayside or life), and those who would seriously argue otherwise probably belong in the same category as fans giving poor Mark-Paul Gosselaar a hard time for conceding the series was “not a great show.” At the same time, we have to give SBTB credit for exploring summer vacation — a storyline TV shows have historically bypassed — even if one of the major plot points in both runs was Slater’s abs.

It’s probably a good thing the summers of our favorite characters were never made into full-length films à la Hawaiian Style, because, as the law of television time-jump dictates, nothing of real consequence happens during this season (unless of course you’re watching HBO). Still, there are those characters whose lives we can’t but help wish we’d seen more of over break, and so, we came up with a list. We hope you’ll add the summers you always longed to see (and that may or may not have driven you to write pages of fanfic under an undisclosed pen name) in the comments, because at the risk of sounding like your mom on the first day of camp, we always love hearing from you. … Read More

Television

10 Teen Dramas That Adults Will Also Love

By Judy Berman on

Tomorrow brings the season premiere of Pretty Little Liars, and we couldn’t be more excited. (OK, we could be more excited, but a Mad Men premiere only comes once every 18 months or so.) But wait, you might say, isn’t Pretty Little Liars a show for teenage girls? Well, as far as we’re concerned, while it may be about teenage girls it isn’t for them alone. We thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery’s first two seasons and have come to count it among the many teen dramas that are smart, fun, and absorbing enough to interest adults as well. We’ll tell you why, and list a handful of similar shows you might want to marathon during the summer TV lull, after the jump. … Read More

Television

10 Incredibly Awkward TV Sex Scenes

By Michelle Rafferty on

Sex on television can be fairly unrealistic. For instance, it’s not possible for someone as cute as Zooey Deschanel to bomb with someone as equally cute as Justin Long (see New Girl episode #8). That said, the bottom line rings true: sex isn’t always pretty. Time and time again we learn that scented candles and starfish lingerie straps prove useless in diffusing the awkwardness of human intimacy. Which is why this Valentine’s Day we’re cutting through the hoopla and spotlighting some of the biggest romantic misfires in television history (no pun intended). And since we’re not total curmudgeons, we’d like to point out that, sometimes, bad sex is beautiful. It can blossom into true love, bring a couple closer together, or even save a friendship. Just click through and see for yourself. And be sure to add your own favorite awkward couplings in the comments! … Read More

Television

TV’s Greatest Alternate Reality Episodes

By Michelle Rafferty on

What if Buffy never came to Sunnydale? Or Ryan Atwood, Newport Beach? Or even Clark Kent, Earth? The “What if?” question has become a staple television plot device, usually executed in the form of an “alternate reality” episode somewhere between the middle and end of a popular series. So it’s about right that Grey’s Anatomy, now halfway through its eighth season, has decided to take a stab at the question: what if Meredith’s mom never had Alzheimer’s? Here’s what we’ve gathered from tonight’s much-hyped previews: Meredith wears pink cardigans, Cristina has bangs, and Derek is now known as “McDreary.” We can’t wait to see what fun, wacky ways the alternate versions of the Seattle Grace staff collide. In the meantime, we invite you to click through our roundup of TV’s best “What if?” episodes and add your favorites in the comments. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. According to The Observer, Kanye West is planning to shoot a short film — much like his 30-minute clip for “Runaway” — in the Middle East. Says their source: “There’s a lot of preconceived notions and stereotypes about Emiratis and Qataris, which Westerners often play up. [His reps] discussed how Kanye is… Read More

Television

Flavorpill’s Zagat-Style Guide to TV’s Best Thanksgiving Episodes

By Jason Bailey on

Thanksgiving is upon us, and it’s high time to enjoy all of our favorite yearly traditions: the turkey, the stuffing, the pumpkin pie, the awkward family encounters, pretending to care about football… and, most of all, that venerable standby of episodic television, the Thanksgiving show. As best as we can determine, the first weekly series to do a Thanksgiving-centered episode was The Burns and Allen Show, back in 1951; Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and Mr. Peepers quickly followed suit, realizing that a Thanksgiving show offered plenty of fodder for conflict, resolution, and warm holiday cheer. We’ve selected ten of our favorite Thanksgiving episodes — and in the culinary spirit of the holiday, we present them in the ever-popular Zagat’s dining guide format, because why not? Check ‘em out after the jump and add your own in the comments. … Read More

Television

15 Apartments on TV That We Wished We Owned

By Colette McIntyre on

After our post on dream movie apartments generated so much discussion, it occurred to us that another installment was in order. Television is just as responsible as films are for our unrealistic apartment fantasies. Sunken living rooms, hardwood floors, and skyline views were all common fixtures in the homes of our favorite characters — rarely did we see a protagonist wrangle with poor water pressure or get stuck with windows that faced brick walls. With that in mind, we’ve complied a list of the best apartments on television, from the Bass-Van der Woodsens’ swanky uptown abode to Fraiser’s chic Seattle sprawl. Share your own picks in the comments. … Read More