Television Without Pity - All Blogs

Tuesday, September 17: New Girl

Aly Semigran — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:00:58 +0000

When we left off with the gang in their stellar second season, Nick and Jess decided on "un-call" it and give their blossoming romance a go; Schmidt was torn between Elizabeth and Cece (pick Elizabeth, you fool!); and Winston…well, Winston sure was there, wasn't he?

I Want My DVD: Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:00:51 +0000

It's a zombie world and we just live in it.

TV on DVD: Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:00:04 +0000

It may be a country music show, but Nashville's uneven first season left Connie Britton fans singing the blues.

The Walking Dead Spin-Off: Use Your Braaaaains, AMC

Aly Semigran — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 17:58:30 +0000

You know how you already can't get enough of the characters on The Walking Dead and you think to yourself, "Boy, if only I could watch more insufferable people try to survive the zombie apocalypse? (Hello, anyone?) Well, AMC has decided to give us just that with a Walking Dead companion series slated for 2015.

Breaking Bad: Our Weekly 8 for 8

Ethan Alter — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:24:42 +0000

Um, so yeah… some stuff went down on Breaking Bad's third-to-last episode, "Ozymandias." Pretty major stuff. Pardon us while we pick our jaws up off the floor, slow our pulses down and then just single out a mere eight highlights from this lungbuster of an episode.

Monday, September 16: Dancing with the Stars

Aly Semigran — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 10:00:56 +0000

Bill Nye the Science Guy, Valerie Harper, Leah Remini, and Noel Kahn: is this best Dancing with the Stars cast to date? We'll sure find out when Season 17 of the wildly popular reality competition kicks off tonight.

The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV

Angel Cohn — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 19:21:13 +0000

We're leaving Ken from Project Runway off our list this week because he was able to contain his utter hatred for the judges… somewhat. But let's just say it is never a good sign when your mom knows that you are like Jekyll and Hyde and can turn into a beastly monster at the drop of a hat.

The Family: Dumbfellas

Ethan Alter — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 10:00:19 +0000

There's one comic beat buried deep in The Family that explains why Luc Besson thought this mob comedy would be worth making. Relocated with his biological family to a rural village in the Normandy region of France after betraying his Brooklyn-based professional "family," ex-Mafioso Fred Blake a.k.a. Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro) is the guest of honor at a special movie screening hosted by the town's film society. The movie on the docket is Some Came Running, the 1958 Frank Sinatra/Dean Matrin film, but -- quel dommage! -- they've mistakenly been sent the print for another movie, a Martin Scorsese picture. I'll give you one guess as to which… and no, Kundun and Hugo would be the wrong picks.

Friday, September 13: Kendra on Top

Aly Semigran — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 10:00:11 +0000

The title of Kendra Wilkinson's current reality series isn't exactly subtle, but then again, nothing about the former Playboy bunny is. The loud (read: that laugh), bubbly, but ultimately likable reality television wife and mother returns for a second season of more loud laughing and career and relationship "drama."

Derek: A Sufficiently Depressing Comedy — A Comed-epressing, If You Will

Aly Semigran — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:10:50 +0000

After watching the first episode of Ricky Gervais' latest series Derek -- which makes its U.S. debut today on Netflix after having originally aired on the U.K.'s Channel 4 -- you'll be overwhelmed with a lot of feelings. Among others, you'll feel rather depressed, mildly uplifted and conflicted as to whether Gervais just pulled off his most sincere, stripped-down show yet, or a just a very emotionally manipulative one. (I happen to think there's a little bit of both going on here).

Camp: What We Learned From This Summer’s Weirdest Show

Ethan Alter — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:08:29 +0000

Looking back, we're not sure quite why we willingly enrolled at the Little Otter Family Camp, the bucolic setting of NBC's Camp, for the duration of this summer. From the pilot episode on, the show was consistently terrible -- a bizarre confection of soap opera, teen (and grown-up) sex comedy and flat-out "Huh?" plot developments. And yet, we kept watching anyway, if only to see just how much worse things could possibly get, not unlike the way we stayed glued to our sets during the epic crash of NBC's winter bomb, Smash. After ten weeks, Camp closed its doors -- likely for good -- with last night's appropriately weird finale, which involved, among other things, a counselor's mother getting thrown in a foreign prison for drug smuggling, the abusive aunt who almost took her in, a porny hot dog eating contest, several "should I stay or should I go?" life decisions and an inter-camp Olympics that greatly suffered from the lack of a Bill Murray cameo. Even after spending the warm weather months embedded at Little Otter, we're still not sure we understand the rules of the place (or the show, for that matter), but here are the various do's and don'ts we picked up during our time at NBC's version of summer camp.

Thursday, September 12: Derek

Aly Semigran — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:00:14 +0000

Ricky Gervais has created two of the greatest television comedies all time (The Office , Extras) thanks to his uncanny ability to weave hilariously awkward – and often over-the-top -- moments with deeply realistic human drama. Then…there was Life's Too Short . Hopefully the new series from the button-pushing funny man fall into the former category rather than the latter.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013: The X Factor

Angel Cohn — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 10:00:45 +0000

Are you ready for some awkward sexual chemistry? You are in luck, because The X Factor is back.

Extras: The 5 Most Cringe-Worthy Cameos

Aly Semigran — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:21:39 +0000

Much like my last installment in Brilliant But Cancelled -- in which I reflected on the bitingly funny genius of Chris Lilley's Summer Heights High (and hell yes, you better believe I'm excited about the recently announced Ja'mie spin-off show) -- it's technically unfair to call this week's choice a cancelled series either. That's because Ricky Gervais, like Lilley, knows that shows only have a certain shelf life. Gervais -- whose new series Derek debuts on Netflix on Thursday, September 12 -- applied that theory to The Office and, the show under discussion here, Extras.

TV on DVD: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:00:49 +0000

Season 2 of Homeland was pretty great... for about five episodes.

I Want My DVD: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:00:30 +0000

The rebooted Star Trek series heads Into Darkness... and not in a good way.

Tuesday, September 10: Sons of Anarchy

Aly Semigran — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:00:12 +0000

There's two types of people that will be tuning in for the Season 6 premiere of Sons of Anarchy: those who have been a faithful viewer and want to find out what Jax (Charlie Hunnam) will be able to do to save SAMCRO, and those who want to see what that guy from Fifty Shades of Grey is all about.

Breaking Bad: Our Weekly 8 for 8

Ethan Alter — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 15:17:22 +0000

Don't worry -- unlike last night's episode of Breaking Bad, "To'hajiilee," we won't be stopping our 8 for 8 highlights reel in mid-sen

Monday, September 9: Million Second Quiz

Aly Semigran — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 10:00:21 +0000

A Million Second Quiz isn't cool. You know what is? A Billion Second Quiz. Well, too bad, hot shot, a Billion Second Quiz would take far too long and NBC has already picked up the new, Ryan Seacrest-hosted game show Million Second Quiz, so just deal with it.

Sunday, September 8: Boardwalk Empire

Aly Semigran — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 10:00:37 +0000

Season 4 of the critically acclaimed drama Boardwalk Empire (it got so good again last season, didn't it?) kicks off with Nucky (Steve Buscemi) making a peace offering to Joe and working with Arnold following his big battle with Gyp. Will Nucky still rule Atlantic City? The new season should explore that burning question.

The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV This Week

Angel Cohn — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 17:44:34 +0000

Again, we're starting off with some kind thoughts as we learned this week that perpetually awesome hosts Tim Gunn and Cat Deeley were even more awesome than we had previously believed. First, it was revealed that Cat was responsible for the amazing Jasmine making it to the Top 20 (well deserved!) and then we watched Tim Gunn delicately diffuse a potentially volatile situation with Ken without even breaking a sweat. Both are total pros.

Friday, September 6: Hello Ross

Aly Semigran — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 10:00:39 +0000

E!'s most grating red carpet reporter (no small feat,) Ross Matthews, a.k.a. Intern Ross, now has his own show to bother you with. Ross, along with his fellow squawking heads like Joan Rivers, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopolous will dissect/destroy pop culture a little bit more with their musings.

Riddick: Assault on Planet 13

Ethan Alter — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 10:00:13 +0000

With the re-energized Fast and the Furious franchise having returned him to pop culture relevance (however briefly), Vin Diesel and his regular collaborator, writer/director David Twohy, are seizing the opportunity to take one more run at Richard B. Riddick, the intergalactic, night vision-enhanced bad-ass they originated in 2000's surprise hit Pitch Black and effectively killed off (metaphorically, though not literally) in 2004's not-so-surprise bomb The Chronicles of Riddick. The secret to Pitch Black's success is that it plays like a lean, mean John Ford Western dressed up in sci-fi clothing, Stagecoach in outer space if you will, with Riddick functioning as its Ringo Kid -- the cool-as-hell antihero who is technically part of the larger ensemble, but gets the best lines and the best bits of action. The bigger-budgeted sequel, on the other hand, proved to be as muddled and convoluted and the original was clean and elegant, tying Riddick up in a confounding mythology that tried and failed to position him as some kind of Conan figure. The third film, simply titled Riddick, tries to split the difference, once again embracing a stripped-down approach to genre filmmaking (one that shares a lot in common with another filmmaker named John… Carpenter, rather than Ford), but still trying to show how its title character fits into the larger futureverse Diesel and Twohy are laboring to create.

Indie Snapshot: Winnie Mandela

Ethan Alter — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 09:55:59 +0000

Originally shot in 2011 and sneaking into theaters before the November release of 2013's higher-profile Nelson Mandela biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom -- starring Idris Elba as the iconic South African civil rights crusader -- Winnie Mandela purports to be a life story of Mandela's now ex-wife, chronicling her personal bravery and public activism during her husband's long incarceration. But even though it's her point of view, the movie is still very much his story. Despite the title and the presence of an Oscar-winning actress (Jennifer Hudson) in the central role, Winnie Mandela turns out to be only moderately interested in the woman for bears that name.

Thursday, September 5: The Customer is Always Right

Aly Semigran — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 10:00:57 +0000

Ever have a bad experience at a restaurant or retail store and think to yourself (or mutter out loud), "I could run this place better!"? Well, now is your chance, Mr. Know-It-All! OWN has created a reality show in which everyday customers give their input to CEOs about how they could improve their businesses.

I Want My VOD: September 2013

Ethan Alter — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 20:46:14 +0000

Ken Marino and Gillian Jacobs have demon trouble in the horror sort-of comedy Bad Milo.

Dancing with the Stars: Does Season 17 Have the Best Cast Yet?

Aly Semigran — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 16:37:45 +0000

Just one day after it was announced that American Idol would bring on Harry Connick Jr. (and bring back Jennifer Lopez) as a judge, Dancing with the Stars one-upped them with the reveal of what is, quite possibly, their best cast yet.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The League

Ethan Alter — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 10:00:34 +0000

It's the return of one of the best comedy power hours around, now on an all-new network -- FXX.

The Roast of James Franco: Grading the Roasters

Ethan Alter — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:42:34 +0000

Comedy Central netted a big fish for its annual celebrity roast when they got James Franco interested in being mocked and ridiculed by his famous friends -- like Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill -- on national television. But the night itself turned out to be a mixed bag, with some of the roasters killing it and others seeming to hold themselves back, not wanting to piss off their pal. Here's our roaster report card from a B-level Roast of an A-list star.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013: Luther

Ethan Alter — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:00:39 +0000

In between saving the world from the Kaiju and helping Thor out in Asgard, Idris Elba found time in his busy film schedule to continue the adventures of his British detective, John Luther. Although after Pacific Rim, now we want to see a crossover where Luther teams up with Jaeger-meister Stacker Pentecost to battle supernatural creatures and attractive female psychopaths.

I Want My DVD: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:00:27 +0000

Jesse Eisenberg was this summer's unlikely magic man.

TV on DVD: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:00:05 +0000

Kerry Washington's D.C.-set soap is so much fun, it's scandalous.

Breaking Bad: Our Weekly 8 for 8

Ethan Alter — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 17:44:38 +0000

There's certainly one way Jesse Pinkman ain’t like Old Yeller… he's not going down without a fight. Here are our picks for the best 8 moments from Breaking Bad's fifth-to-last episode, "Rabid Dog."

Monday, September 2: Uncle Grandpa

Aly Semigran — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:00:45 +0000

The Cartoon Network has brought joy to so many with their delightfully weird original series…some of them are even geared towards children. Sorry, kiddos, but the brand new show Uncle Grandpa is another off-kilter one for grown-ups.

Sunday, September 1: MDA Show of Strength Telethon

Aly Semigran — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 10:00:48 +0000

Give a little back over your Labor Day weekend as ABC airs the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s nationally broadcast telethon. The two-hour event will attempt to raise awareness, as well as donations to help those who suffer.

The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV This Week

Angel Cohn — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 18:12:55 +0000

Before we get to the negativity of this week, we'd like to take one minute to give a shout out to Extreme Weight Loss's Cassandra for exuding so much positivity and to Julie Chen for giving Aaryn a little taste of what she's in for once she leaves the Big Brother jury house. Now back to your regularly scheduled obnoxiousness.

Getaway: Stuck in Neutural

Ethan Alter — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:05:39 +0000

You can tell it's the final days of the summer movie season when the only new wide releases in multiplexes are a One Direction ~~documentary~~ promotional video and an action vehicle for the not-so-dynamic duo of Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez, both of which are making pit stops in theaters prior to debuting on DVD where they really belong. If you simply can't abide the idea of seeing a movie that's been in theaters for longer than a week, I'd suggest going with the One Direction thing -- this despite not having seen it or deliberately listened to one of the manufactured band's manufactured tunes -- if only because the screaming of the group's target audience is sure to keep you awake. There's no such respite from the abject tedium of Getaway, which accomplishes the impressive task of vanishing completely from your mind as you're sitting in the theater watching it. Normally, I'm stridently against folks spending an entire movie on their cell phones, but in this case, it's not like there's anything happening onscreen that merits your attention.

Friday, August 30, 2013: Continuum

Ethan Alter — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:00:42 +0000

Poor Continuum… despite beating Orphan Black to the airwaves by a full season, the latter made-in-Canada import quickly attracted a media buzz that its predecessor never received. Although, honestly, Orphan Black is awesome enough to deserve all its buzz and Continuum, which ends its sophomore season tonight, well... isn't.

Indie Snapshot: Women on the Verge

Ethan Alter — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:00:32 +0000

Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn just can't seem to get it together in the women-in-crisis movies, The Lifeguard and Afternoon Delight.

James Spader’s Creepiest Performances Before The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ethan Alter — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 17:00:32 +0000

When you stop and think about it, Marvel's announcement that James Spader will be playing Joss Whedon's latest Big Bad, the ass-kicking robot Ulton, in 2015's sure-to-be top-grossing movie The Avengers: Age of Ultron... despite what those Jarvis conspiracy theorists would have you believe. No, what's really surprising is that it's taken Spader this long to play a comic-book villain. The dude has been a grade-A onscreen creep since the late '80s, when movies like Less Than Zero pushed him onto a bad boy path that most recently led to his starring role as a Hannibal Lecter-style mentor on NBC's action-packed fall series The Blacklist. Considering his resume, he's the ideal choice to put Iron Man & Co. through their paces. Here are the future Ultron's five creepiest movie roles to date.

Thursday, August 29: Hollywood Game Night

Aly Semigran — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:00:44 +0000

Hollywood Game Night is saving the best for last. Especially if you consider Terry Crews, Tom Arnold, Emilie de Ravin, Hoda Kotb, David Giuntoli and Turtle from Entourage (fine, fine, Jerry Ferrara) to be the best. Season 1 of the surprisingly entertaining summer hit comes to a close with this motley crew, plus the hostest with the mostest, Jane Lynch.

I Want My VOD: August 2013

Ethan Alter — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:00:17 +0000

New movies from Brian De Palma and Billy Bob Thornton are more than worth your VOD dollars this month. Paul Schrader, on the other hand, not so much.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013: FanAddicts

Ethan Alter — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 10:00:12 +0000

If Syfy's Heroes of Cosplay isn't completely fulfilling your geeky needs, Reelz is plunging into the Comic-Con scene with FanAddicts, which stands at the crossroads -- and hopefully downwind -- of Hoarders and Comic Book Men.

Closed Circuit: Faulty Wiring

Ethan Alter — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 10:00:03 +0000

Among the many disappointments of the thrill-free British thriller Closed Circuit is that it wastes such an evocative title on such a bland movie. After all, that name instantly puts one in mind of vintage '70s paranoia pictures like The Parallax View or Three Days of the Condor, movies where a lone hero is plunged into a shadowy world of espionage and betrayal, perpetrated by an all-knowing, all-powerful corporate and/or government entity. And the film's opening credits sequence further teases that that's what's in store for viewers, filling the screen with footage gleaned from various closed circuit cameras positioned around a contemporary London neighborhood. At first, we're treated to scenes of ordinary life: people walking and talking, cops directing traffic and vendors peddling their wares. But then the image of a nondescript delivery truck starts to recur on the various monitors as it backs its way into a particularly populous section of the street. Just as a police officer comes over to wave the driver away, the screens go white as an explosion reduces the surrounding area to rubble.

Why You Should Watch Summer Heights High Before the New School Year Starts

Aly Semigran — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 17:15:41 +0000

Despite the fact that I have been out of school for a number of years that are irrelevant to this article, I still get nervous pangs whenever I see back-to-school commercials or feel that undeniable click in the air from summer to fall. Maybe it's because I don't like coat season or maybe it's because high school is a nightmarish hellscape that operates on an outdated social hierarchy and I have empathy for anyone going through it. It's probably more the latter.

TV on DVD: Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:00:47 +0000

That scene from Sons of Anarchy's fifth season sure set tongues wagging.

Tuesday, August 27: Pretty Little Liars

Aly Semigran — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:00:04 +0000

Presumably taking cues from two of this summer's biggest unexpected hits Now You See Me and World War Z, the Season 4 finale of Pretty Little Liars has some magic tricks up its sleeve, all the while declaring World War A.

I Want My DVD: Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Ethan Alter — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:00:02 +0000

In the great Gatsby war, Leo Dio easily beats out Robert Redford.

Breaking Bad: Our Weekly 8 for 8

Ethan Alter — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 15:43:34 +0000

Thanks to the third episode in Breaking Bad's final season, we now know never to ask Walter White to videotape a special greeting for birthdays, holidays and/or Bar Mitzvahs. We highlight that standout moment -- and seven more -- from "Confessions."

Monday, August 26, 2013: Teen Mom 3

Aly Semigran — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 10:00:46 +0000

Now entering its third iteration, the very popular Teen Mom series on MTV should provide to be a cautionary tale for young girls. Whether that cautionary tale is about the perils of becoming a teen mom or becoming a famous teen mom (arrests, appearing porn, tabloid covers about your personal heartaches) is up for debate.