Monsters of Television

“It’s the best damn Chinese food I’ve ever had. I could eat it everyday.”

A group of strangers awaken in a deserted hotel in a small, creepy ghost town and have to figure out who has brought them there and why. That is the premise of Persons Unknown. I’m normally a sucker for stories like that (see: Lost or (based on the trailer) Exam) so I was pretty excited going into the pilot. But much like the characters in the show I found myself wondering who the hell brought me here and why were they making me watch this? Read more »

“They can’t send me to jail. I’ve been on TV. I’m a superstar.”

Lazy. If there was only one word to describe this week’s episode that’s what it would be: lazy. Adapting from previous works and basing things off of real events are great ways to tell a story, but to copy something word for word, shot for shot, is just plain uncreative. In usual Boondocks fashion the episode was jam-packed with social commentary, but nothing that couldn’t be gleaned from the episode’s source material. For the first time this season, I am disappointed. I guess TV shows are a lot like albums. You can love it as a whole but there are always gonna be tracks that you don’t like. If The Boondocks is Thriller, “Smokin with Cigarettes” is “The Lady in my Life.” Read more »

“Well well well, we came a long way to kill ya’ll little niglets. Now it’s time for the big bonanza!”

Serialization is wonderful. It rewards viewers for continuing to watch a show and really gives the feeling that there is actual story, that the characters we’re watching are real people with real memories. It does wonders in animation. Every time Sideshow Bob reappeared on The Simpsons it was sure to be a great episode. The Boondocks has continued to do this with its very own Colonel H. Stinkmeaner.

Stinkmeaner, an angry old man whose purpose in life is to spread ignorance and chaos, first appeared in season 1 (“Granddad’s Fight”) where he ends up getting killed in a confrontation with Robert Freeman. He returns in season 2 (“Stinkmeaner Strikes Back”) as a demon possessing Tom DuBois to continue his reign of terror. In this episode Stinkmeaner’s old crew, The Hateocracy, returns for revenge on the Freeman Family. Read more »

Note: This is a retrospective of a television season in preparation for an upcoming season premiere, like one of those “previously seen on” sequences before the show starts (maybe with a bit more snark), basically a reminder to those that have already watched. I warn you: there are spoilers below. If you want to catch up naturally, now is your time to leave and pick up the recorded media of your choice and catch up. Then come back later.

Let’s just get this out there off the bat: I had a huge aversion to True Blood initially. It’s not because I hate vampires. Interview with the Vampire is a favorite book and film of mine. I’m even somewhat interested in the Twilight films. But the huge and rabid fandom of the show was off-putting to me. And I don’t like Anna Paquin. But when it was given to me as a summer assignment for the blog, I put all that aside and actually gave it a try. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Read more »

“We could go Dutch.”

Aside from Noel’s review, each of the writers for Monsters of Television will provide their takes on Lost, from their own perspectives. Below, Matt discusses the nostalgia the finale engaged and the love of his life, regardless of when or where, Juliet.

We the audience should approach our relationship with Lost the same way Sawyer and Juliet decide to treat their sideways date: meet in the middle. Of course not every question is going to be answered and no not everyone is going to be completely satisfied. We all have to give a little up but we’re sure to receive in return.

Before I dive in it’s probably important to note that I did enjoy the finale. Was it perfect? No. Was it what I expected? Hell no. It was different. After thinking about it and talking through it with members of my viewing party I realized the brilliance and forgave the things that I thought would make me rage. Perhaps I’m too much of a fanboy. But again I say it wasn’t perfect. My thoughts on “The End” can best be broken down into three words: nostalgia, unexpected, and Juliet. Read more »

“You’re hurting people I love. You’re hurting people you love.”

Sometimes when I find myself loathing a character and his/her every action I take a step back and really analyze them. I’ve come to find that in certain situations it means that character is very well done (see: Jack Shepard from LOST and Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars). After the events of season 3 I would certainly include Little J in that same category.

Little. Jenny. Humphrey. The poor nobody from Brooklyn who just wanted to be one of the popular girls. Well we’ve seen her rise to power and as the saying goes it does corrupt absolutely. This season she’s dated a drug dealer, become a drug dealer herself, attempted to steal her stepsister’s boyfriend, and tried to break up her father’s marriage. Now as of the finale she’s tried to destroy Serena further by sending a Gossip Girl blast that she slept with Dan. And she lost her virginity. To Chuck Bass (awesome!). Her stepbrother (oh, not awesome). This season for her has been very focused on destroying Serena and the funny thing about it is, she has become the very person she hates. The drugs, the betrayal: these are reasons Serena was sent away to boarding school. Read more »

“We’re American. We don’t quit just because we’re wrong. We keep doing the wrong thing until it turns out right.”

An exiled hero must return to glory and face his greatest challenge yet to aid his helpless community. Doesn’t exactly strike you as the plot of an episode of The Boondocks does it? Where’s the social commentary? Where’s the abundance of cussing? Oh it’s all there wrapped up in a neat ass kicking, wall crushing, ball kicking bow.

It’s no secret that Aaron McGruder is a huge fan of and inspired by anime and Asian cinema. Tonight’s episode was a perfect homage. It was a hero’s journey in the same vein as a Stephen Chow film, especially Shaolin Soccer. Huey must return to kickball after a self-imposed exile (he gave a poor girl a “permanent severe limp”) to save the Woodcrest community after tycoon Ed Wuncler (Ed Asner) bets it on a kickball game against a rival Chinese businessman’s team. All of the necessary components for a good hero tale are there: Out of practice protagonist. No hope misfit team. Insurmountable odds. An epic showdown with the rival (Chinese team captain Ming). Read more »

Matt Owens was lucky enough to secure one of the last tickets to LOST Live: The Final Celebration that was last night in Los Angeles. In the Royce Hall at UCLA, the event featured Michael Giacchino, the composer of the series’s score, leading an orchestra in a rendition of a number of pieces from LOST. The event also screened next week’s new episode “What They Died For.” Below, Matt recounts his experience, sans spoilers.

September 22, 2004.  18.65 million people tuned in to the series premiere of LOST. I was not one of those people. I had no interest in the show. I’d heard the hype, listened to the attempts at convincing and the pleas, but I didn’t care. A friend of mine gave me his season 1 DVDs to borrow. They sat in my desk drawer. For three years. It wasn’t until I read the events of the season 3 finale “Through the Looking Glass” in an issue of Entertainment Weekly that my interest was finally piqued. “Wait. They get off the island? And they have to go back? And that was a flashFORWARD not a flashBACK!?” My brother Jordan and I promptly power-watched seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. And I was hooked. Read more »

“The two of you here together? Please tell me there’s an explanation that doesn’t involve the apocalypse.”

Look at that. First quote not by Chuck Bass.

You know that couple that always fights and they swear they’re better off for it? Or that group of friends that all gossip behind each other’s backs but are closer than anyone else you know? Some people just work that way. “Frenemies” I believe they are referred to as but I dare not use the term out of self-respect and the respect for those of you reading this. That’s how the relationships on Gossip Girl work. They thrive on the dysfunctional. This Ocean’s Eleven style episode showed us just how much they need it (and how much we love to see it).

No event in recent Gossip Girl history has brought this many members of the main cast together for a single, delicious purpose. The heist? Prove that Dr. Holland Campbell is lying about having an affair with Rufus and expose her connection to the pills involved in the evil deeds of Doctor van der Woodsen. Under the leadership of Blair, the Upper East Side version of Danny Ocean, a master plan is concocted. Chuck, Jenny, Nate and even Dan all have their parts to play to put things right. Huh. Crashing rich parties for the sake of helping people. Maybe it’s a little Robin Hood too. I declare this review to be an OUTLAAAAWWW!! Read more »