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RYAN STEWART
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Soft serve
Reality, right now, is so absurd that almost everyone has already adopted a "laugh-to-keep-from-crying" approach to the news. We don't need someone to tell us how truly horrifying our political landscape is. So what's a satirist to do?
City of blahs
Premium networks play by different rules from the rest of television, but Starz has taken things to a new extreme: they've twice renewed shows before episode one even aired.
House of Lies and Shameless's heroes could be less anti-
In a television landscape dominated by protagonists who are murderers, drug kingpins, serial philanderers, and other assorted life-ruiners, Showtime may have finally gone too far.
A bold Proposition
Like many cast members on HBO's The Wire, Robert F. Chew is originally from Baltimore and therefore has firsthand experience with much of the urban decay the show depicts.
This meth we're in
In this age of Hollywood business dealings breathlessly tweeted within minutes of their consummation, passersby cell phone set photos that reveal major plot points, leaked scripts and leaked episodes, Vince Gilligan has accomplished something rare indeed.
From “American Horror Story” to “X-Factor,” a TV tip sheet
Here are the highlights of this year's autumn TV contenders.
Good dog
It's hard to say what's more surprising about Wilfred , FX's new comedy — adapted from an Australian series — about a depressed ex-lawyer (Elijah Wood) and his friend Wilfred, who he thinks is a man in a dog suit but who is, in actuality, a dog. Is it that the show exists at all, or that it's actually pretty good?
Souterrain Transmissions (2011)
This hasn't been a bad year for music, but there haven't been a lot of songs that hit in such a way that there's a physical need to hear them again — immediately. But Past Life Martyred Saints, the solo debut from former Gowns frontlady Erika M. Andersen, conveniently shortened to EMA and pronounced in acronym-form, does have such a song.
The Road More Travelled
Years ago, when I was a completely out-of-shape cycling novice, I had a vague dream of someday riding my bike the entire length of the Minuteman Bike Path — a 10-mile trail that starts in Cambridge, winds through Arlington and Lexington, and ends in Bedford.
Merge (2011)
Very quietly, Wye Oak have put together an impressive run. Not musically quiet, of course — their specialty is massive guitarscapes that seem an impossibility from just a duo.
Saddle Creek (2011)
On their debut, Hometowns, Toronto's Rural Alberta Advantage sounded like a band in search of an identity. It was a bit of a mess, but there were moments when they seemed to be onto something. So surely the improved focus on Departing must be to their benefit, no?
Oh, the darkness!
The Shield's Shawn Ryan looks at more cops in The Chicago Code
Rich harvest
On the third season of Parks and Recreation , NBC's hilarious yet ratings-starved ode to small-town civil service, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the rest of the gang at the title department decide to revive the Harvest Festival, a town fair that could attract a lot of attention — and revenue.
Medium rare: Can Bob's Burgers make the cut?
Maybe it's too soon to worry about the fate of Bob's Burgers — Fox's new animated comedy series doesn't even premiere till this Sunday (January 9) at 8:30 pm. But consider Lone Star .
Kanine Records (2011)
Kanine Records (2011)
No guts, no glory
There's quite a lot to like about The Walking Dead . That is, if you can make it past the opening sequence.
Which one is the best? You decide.
For me, this may be one of our most difficult calls yet ...
Would watching be a good decision?
Say this for The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (Fridays at 10 pm on IFC), David Cross's new show for Channel 4 in England and IFC here: the title is apt.
Terrible Records (2010)
Those who were hanging around the music scene in Allston around 2004 may be surprised to discover that the George Lewis Jr. behind Twin Shadow is indeed the same George Lewis Jr. who fronted Mad Man Films back in an earlier life.
On trading Baltimore for Atlantic City in Boardwalk Empire
This Sunday will mark the premiere of Boardwalk Empire , HBO’s newest epic drama series.
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