CULTURE
As season closes, favorite shows stand out
By Alec Bojalad | May 30, 2011I don’t know who decided that the TV season and the school season should coincide, but he or she was a moron.
Alec Bojalad
OPINION
What Alec's Watching: Pilots appear promising
By Alec Bojalad | May 24, 2011The network TV season is slowly but surely coming to a close. For people like me, this means crawling into the cryogenic chamber for a deep, satisfying sleep before True Blood and Breaking Bad come on during the mid-summer. But for the networks it means only one thing: upfronts time.
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: SNL needs to redefine 'L'
By Alec Bojalad | May 16, 2011I still love Saturday Night Live. I scour Hulu for all the best skits every Sunday morning and react to news that Justin Timberlake will be hosting the season finale like NBC mailed me $500 overnight. But for every SNL nerd such as myself, there are 12 other naysayers who say the show will never be as good as it was in the INSERT-DECADE-HERE.
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: HBO series lacks creator's ingenuity
By Alec Bojalad | Apr. 26, 2011This is how I imagine the pitch meeting for Treme between HBO and co-creator David Simon went:
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: 'Incredible' HBO series a must-see for all types
By Alec Bojalad | Apr. 18, 2011Let’s get this out of the way right now: there are snow zombies in Game of Thrones. If this does not make you want to watch this TV show, then please put your paper down or close your browser window and send me an email with your name so I know never to become friends with you.
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: 'Camelot' too familiar
By Alec Bojalad | Apr. 11, 2011In a recent interview with The New York Times, Chris Chibnall, the showrunner of Starz’ new miniseries Camelot, said: “Every generation needs its (own version of) Camelot.” It’s the kind of quick, one-off phrase that showrunners must repeat over and over again while on press tours promoting their shows. But it’s also the kind of rhetorical statement that prompts many lazy critics looking for a lead, such as myself, to say, “Really? Does every generation really need a Camelot?”
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: Series explores emotions of murder
By Alec Bojalad | Apr. 6, 2011Like every other American who has ever seen a television screen, I love Law & Order. It’s an integral part of the American family room. It’s what your grandma has on her twenty-year-old TV every time you visit her in the afternoon. It’s what you flip to on TNT when you want some white noise.
CULTURE
'Chopped' adds spice to kitchen
By Alec Bojalad | Mar. 28, 2011Food rocks. Ever since our species crawled out of the primordial goo, hunters and gatherers would walk many miles and kill many creatures in pursuit of what anthropologists refer to as “the yummies.” Ancient man performed complicated rituals and dances so that the fickle gods would throw down a cucumber or two.
CULTURE
What Alec's Watching: Season 2 episodes 'Justify' FX series
By Alec Bojalad | Feb. 28, 2011There are only a few actors who can make any film or movie watchable just by their mere presence. Timothy Olyphant is definitely one of those actors.
CULTURE
Police drama proves itself badge-worthy
By Alec Bojalad | Feb. 21, 2011Sometimes I wonder why anyone even tries to do cop shows anymore afterThe Wire nailed the genre so perfectly. Of course, by that logic, filmmakers would have given up after The Godfather and we never would have been treated to Goodfellas.
