Ryan
SNL – FINAL CAST RANKINGS, Part II
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE SEASON WRAP-UP THE KEEP LIST 9. AIDY BRYANT A couple of seasons ago, when we first started tackling SNL on an episode-by-episode basis, Aidy Bryant was my least favorite cast member. She had one role, “annoying neighbor that uses forced laughter to cover her horribleness,” and would jam that character in to…
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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE SEASON WRAP-UP The last couple of years have seen most of SNL‘s veterans graduate from the show, including Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers. This forced the 2013-14 season into a state of rebuilding, something that long time fans know is simply part of the process. You’re…
Read MoreJANUARY TV EXTRAVAGANZA – THE LOST EPISODES
BLACK SAILS ** (out of ****) Sometimes you’re glad to find out that a TV show is terrible. Usually it’s a bummer, but every once in awhile, it’s actually a bonus. I mean, what if Black Sails, a Starz show, was actually good? Then you would start to DVR it, and get really into…
Read MoreMAY TV EXTRAVAGANZA
THE NIGHT SHIFT * (out of ****) FOX’s announcement that they were attempting to do away with pilot season, and therefore the Fall TV Extravaganza, filled me with delight. This means that they are going to shoot 100 pilots, choose four or five of the least awful, and throw the rest away. Step two…
Read MoreMARCH TV EXTRAVAGANZA – THE LOST EPISODES
THE 100 ** (out of ****) No channel on television has a more defined personality than the CW. If you’re an hour long show about young, attractive adults who find out their life has a genre bend to it, you’re probably on the CW. If you’re anything but that, you’re definitely not on…
Read MoreAPRIL TV EXTRAVAGANZA – THE LOST EPISODES
BLACK BOX ** (out of ****) From what I’ve heard, bipolar disorder is a pretty serious thing. It can ruin entire relationships and families. It’s essentially built-in drama, which makes it surprising that it doesn’t appear on television more often. This might be because the people behind the scenes aren’t as evil as we…
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TRIPTANK **1/2 (out of ****) What if the answer to television’s recent overtaking of film, as far as everyday conversational relevance, lies in Comedy Central’s short-animation-fest TripTank? Think about it. When we sit down to watch a movie, we know we’re going to live with these characters for two hours or so. Even if…
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SIRENS **1/2 (out of ****) Almost immediately, you recognize that Sirens is going to entirely fall on the heads of its three stars. And that’s a little scary, seeing as I don’t recognize two of them, and one of them I only know from After Scrubs. It’s a workplace comedy, but the quality of the…
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FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES *1/2 (out of ****) At first, the title of CBS’ new three-camera seems like a more honest moniker of many sitcoms. “This is the story of people who, although they might resemble some of your friends in various ways, lead much more fun, attractive lives than you do.” Instead, it’s the…
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TURN **1/2 (out of ****) Hearing the pitch for Turn a year or so ago was both exciting and scary. Exciting, because it’s pretty dope, as it tells the story of America’s first spy ring, a group of people who infiltrated the British army for one George Washington. It was scary, for…
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