Posts Tagged ‘satire’
 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Californication”

> CALIFORNICATION lost a step this season, which is what often happens when a series of limited scope reaches Year 5.  Unlike other Showtime series like Weeds and Dexter, Californication has never had the appetite for seas...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “The Neighbors”

A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have ha...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Parks & Recreation”

  PARKS & RECREATION:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC WHERE WE WERE:  Celebrating the election of Leslie Knope to the Pawnee, Indiana City Council.  But a little concerned that her new post, and the new job in Washington DC...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED PILOT REPORT: ABC’s “Suburgatory” – PREMIERING TONIGHT

> Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques sh...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Girls”

  GIRLS:  Sunday 9PM on HBO The newly Golden Globe-winning GIRLS has returned, despite all its intervening success and attention, with its messiness intact.  “Messy” is a relative term in the world of Girls,...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Getting On”

  HBO’s GETTING ON was generally close to unwatchable, and that’s meant as sort of a compliment.  Even in the world of pay-TV, where ratings aren’t always at the forefront of a network’s expectatio...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Episodes”

  The first season of Showtime’s EPISODES was hobbled by its own agenda, but in its much better Season 2, the series relaxed into a very solid sitcom.  The show, written throughout by Must-See-TV veterans David Cran...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Toronto Film Festival Reviews: “Bergman Island,” “True Things” & “France”

  BERGMAN ISLAND (IFC – Oct. 15):  Mia Hansen-Love’s Bergman Island asks to be poked and scrutinized in several ways.  It takes place on the island of Faro, where Ingmar Bergman filmed some of his most celebr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Series Finale Review: “Suburgatory”

  Tonight’s series finale of SUBURGATORY provided as clear a picture as any of how much the series had lost its way in the course of its three season run.  Originally, Emily Kapnek’s show had a very clear voic...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Weeds”

  WEEDS:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime   WHERE WE WERE:  After a season largely concerned with a battle for supremacy in the New York drug trade, both within and outside the family, there seemed to be a moment of compara...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Good Girls”

  It was clear from the pilot of NBC’s GOOD GIRLS that the series had a trio of strong assets and some major challenges.  The strengths were its three stars, Christina Hendricks, Retta and Mae Whitman, each of them ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “The Campaign”

  THE CAMPAIGN:  Not At Any Price – Abstain THE CAMPAIGN, like many a politician before it, tries to be all things to all people, and winds up delivering almost nothing. There was reason to be hopeful about The Camp...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Toronto Film Festival Reviews: “Empire of Light” & “Triangle of Sadness”

  EMPIRE OF LIGHT (Searchlight/Disney – December 9):  Sam Mendes takes the first solo screenwriting credit of his long career on Empire of Light, a personal film inspired by his youth and his mother.  The story is ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED REVIEW: SNL Weekend Update Thursday

  The political comics of America owe a heartfelt “thank you” to Mitt Romney for his “47%” bungle that became public this week.  (So do the Democrats, but that’s another story.)  Jon Stewart...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Film Review: “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”

  ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES:  Watch It At Home – Fun But Overextended Silliness ANCHORMAN 2:  THE LEGEND CONTINUES runs 119 minutes, which is rather too much of a not-bad thing (the original Anchorman, in 2...
by Mitch Salem