*originally published 03/12/2016 Let’s take a minute to talk about fantasy. As a rule, your heroes are displaced, usually by circumstances seemingly out of their control. Occasionally, they are revealed to be “chosen one” types, figures of myth/destiny/legend that come on the scene to save/destroy/etc the world. More often than not, fantasy stories are bildungsroman, […]
The first few months of the new year are the best. The temperature drops below -40°, the ice makes dog walking nearly impossible, and the best holiday is again almost a full year away, but it’s all good because it’s the Best TV Season. For 13 or so weeks in the dead of winter, my […]
It’s awards week and we’re all crazy busy with wrapping up the Nominee Interview Series, preparing for the MyTheatre Awards party in Toronto and writing winner announcement articles. So I don’t have a ton of time to write much TV content this week but I wanted to break up the inundation of interviews with something […]
This sweet and salty CW musical comedy is a little uneven and it took a few episodes for the characters and overall point of view to start to really come into focus but, halfway into its first season (a Golden Globe win for Best Actress already secured), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has developed into one of the most […]
It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Rather than add to the pile of “Best TV Couple” lists (again) or write some ode to great cinematic love stories, I’m choosing to celebrate by introducing a new series all about the L word, but not in a romantic sense. “True Love” will be a sporadic new feature in which […]
The preview for last night’s episode of The Bachelor forecasted an epic breakdown by one of those contestants who stands out early but ultimately isn’t that likely to win (the real frontrunners are Lauren B and Caila, though Catherine-esque surprises do happen). The promo showed the lady in question running away and crying, suggesting nothing […]
I am finally read to say it: I love Trevor Noah. The most remarkable part of all this is that The Daily Show, with its new host, remains The Daily Show. It remains a tiny voice of acerbic sincerity in the midst of a sea of politics and media. It remains witty and passionate and […]
Most of my favourite television shows are a little bit brutal. Not really brutal like The Americans or Daredevil, that sort of long-slog, pitch-dark, blood-bathed stuff. Just a little bit brutal. Usually half hours, often billed as comedies but ultimately hard to define as such, my favourite shows tend to have vague, commonplace premises like […]