BLOGS
Recently in TWoP 10 Category
This weekend during the Super Bowl, the longstanding rivalry between the Giants and the Patriots will come to a head. Again. While we're not really huge fans of the actual sporting event, we do appreciate a good showdown. So, in honor of the big game, we've ranked our favorite rivals (not to be confused with heroes and villains) on scripted TV this season.
When the pilot for the new Fox series Touch aired as a special preview this week, we got to see a subtle performance by a child actor who has to serve as the centerpiece of an emotional, complex series... without ever saying a single word. But David Mazouz, who plays Jake, the son of Kiefer Sutherland's character, effortlessly brings his autistic role to life. It's a challenge, but he's not the only underage actor out there who is turning out a scene-stealing performance. While we can't put him on this list after only one episode, we can salute these other kids and tweens who are currently capturing our attention:
In the past few years, there have been an increasing number of reality shows spotlighting people that have unusual jobs. We don't mean programs like Dirty Jobs or Bizarre Foods, but rather series that focus entirely on specific occupations whose existence we might have been barely aware of if it wasn't for reality TV. And as such shows proliferate, even the once-exotic professional tattooing subculture has come to seem practically mainstream. Here are the ten types of work that we find the most strangely fascinating to watch:
It's the start of movie awards season, and we're already dreading this particular self-congratulation fest since the incessant commercials running for the ceremony make us cringe. They're bringing Ricky Gervais back to say crazy things, but no one liked it the last couple times he did it. We don't get it. So while we have to suffer through the night in real time (because it is our job), there are a few things that could actually make us enjoy it.
VH1 has wisely decided to give Celebrity Rehab and Sober House an indefinite break. While the network claims that the shows could return at some point, it's about time that VH1 gave the Dr. Drew-led shows a rest. Maybe in a few years we'll be nostalgic for them (no we won't) and they can bring them back Fear Factor-style. Here are some other unscripted programs that could take a break for a season or two (or longer!) and then maybe come back when they've got something fresh to offer fans.
We offered our New Year's resolutions for shows last year, but most of them didn't pan out. Guess that's the problem with resolutions in general. Here's hoping that more of these shows stick to the suggestions we've carved out for them in the coming year.
There are a lot of terrible shows out there who have characters that are too good for their shows. Or good shows who just have too many characters to service. So as has become our annual tradition (2010, 2009, 2008), we've found shows where these people would be far better utilized.
We already receive our most important life lessons from television, but we're hoping producers, studios and networks themselves learn from the successes and failures of this fall. Here are our big takeaways from the first half of the 2011-12 season:
It seems that nearly every day there's a new reality show popping up to vie for our attention, and while most of them are instantly forgettable or boring clones of existing hits, some of them are actually pretty great. While we mostly talk about competitive reality shows or docu-soaps that feature reprehensible rich people, toddlers, tiaras and chefs, we enjoy plenty of other unscripted programs that don't get that much attention. Until we're blessed with another season of My Strange Addiction (because we can't get enough of people munching on cremated remains or drywall), here are the shows more reality fans should be watching:
Is your family driving you crazy this holiday season? In a time of high stress, it's important to take a moment and reflect on that fact that you're not stuck in one of the many horrible families from the current world of scripted TV. We're not talking about pain-in-the-butt relatives like those on Modern Family or Parenthood -- at least those crazies mean well. The following clans, on the other hand, make dysfunction seem luxurious -- just imagine what it would be like to call these characters your kin.
MOST RECENT POSTS
TWoP 10: Best Rivalries on Scripted TV
TWoP 10: Best Child Actors This Season
TWoP 10: Weirdest Jobs on Reality TV
TWoP 10: Things That Would Make Us Happiest at the Golden Globes
TWoP 10: Reality Franchises That Should Be Benched
TWoP 10: Resolutions For TV Shows (The 2011 Edition)
TWoP 10: Characters We'd Like to Regift (the 2011 Edition)
TWoP 10: Lessons of the Fall 2011 Season
BLOG ARCHIVES
The Telefile
February 2012
19 Entries
January 2012
78 Entries
December 2011
49 Entries
November 2011
56 Entries
October 2011
74 Entries
September 2011
78 Entries
August 2011
61 Entries
July 2011
56 Entries
June 2011
57 Entries
May 2011
57 Entries
April 2011
78 Entries
March 2011
73 Entries
February 2011
57 Entries
January 2011
65 Entries
December 2010
39 Entries
November 2010
45 Entries
October 2010
46 Entries
September 2010
62 Entries
August 2010
55 Entries
July 2010
53 Entries
June 2010
65 Entries
May 2010
59 Entries
April 2010
57 Entries
March 2010
67 Entries
February 2010
53 Entries
January 2010
59 Entries
December 2009
32 Entries
November 2009
47 Entries
October 2009
65 Entries
September 2009
66 Entries
August 2009
58 Entries
July 2009
72 Entries
June 2009
71 Entries
May 2009
50 Entries
April 2009
57 Entries
March 2009
66 Entries
February 2009
52 Entries
January 2009
56 Entries
December 2008
51 Entries
November 2008
71 Entries
October 2008
88 Entries
September 2008
86 Entries
August 2008
120 Entries
July 2008
115 Entries
June 2008
90 Entries
May 2008
44 Entries
April 2008
30 Entries
March 2008
26 Entries
February 2008
30 Entries
January 2008
44 Entries
December 2007
31 Entries
November 2007
66 Entries