TV School

CLAP ON, CLAP OFF

By Emily Yoshida

Okay, now this I can do. Did Skins US read my recap from last week (or at the very least, the last paragraph), go back in time, and decide to make their first solid episode? Not a great episode, a decidedly B effort as Skins goes, but a consistent one. That’d be awesome if I could command such time-space authority from a Tumblr post, but I suspect the change has more to do with the fact that, as a show, Skins is growing up week to week, before our eyes. And yeah, I’ve bitched and complained, but I’m not gonna lie: it’s been pretty fascinating process to observe.

Read More

HUGS & DRUGS

By Emily Yoshida

“You only want me for my drugs.”

“You don’t have any drugs.”

The callback to Cadie’s episode near the beginning of the latest, weirdest, but not even close to the worst installment of Skins, is too obvious to be an accident, and as such, draws a parallel that wouldn’t have occured to me otherwise. Abbud and Cadie, more than any of the other kids in the Skins gang, are the ones kept around for yuks. The difference is that the yuks are usually to Abbud’s face, and he’s usually complicit in them, but that makes him just as much of an outsider as the more obviously bonkers Cadie. That underlying fact made this episode better than it should have been purely because it used a formula Skins does so well: taking a theretofore walking joke and giving him or her depth, if only for an hour minus commercial breaks.

Read More

A STAND FOR EQUALITY

by Sarah Marie

This episode wasn’t ultimately about drunkenness, it was about humanness. No one’s been a more effective emblem for the insurmountable frailty of authority figures than Will Shuester, and “Blame it on the Alcohol” draws a more defined parallel between teachers and students than we’ve yet seen. In fact, the New Directions exhibit a level of responsibility not seen in their instructor; no one drunk-dials from the Rachel Berry House Party Trainwreck Extravaganza, after all.

Read More

RIGHT NOW I WANT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE

by Colleen Lobner

For the last six Sundays, I’ve had to be reminded to watch Big Love. I don’t mind sitting down for it or writing these reviews about it, but it’s not something I’ve anticipated from episode to episode or even thought much about during the course of the week. However, things are finally starting to move along. The episode opens with a spirited sex scene between the divorcing couple, Bill and Barb…but that’s not all! There are strippers, death threats, lesbians and at least three scandalous makeout scenes, for those of you keeping score at home. Alby terrifies poor Verlan into kissing him, lest we forget he is a big, gay tyrant. It’s unfortunate that Alby has descended into caricature, but the painting he has hanging over his desk— which depicts him cradling a baby lamb with a holy glow ringing his head— is a game-changer. Wow.

Read More

SCIENCE VS. MAGIC

by Riley Dashiell Biehl

Ooohhh, a shirtless Superboy sparring with Aqualad? Now that we’ve gotten a beach segment and few other instances of bare chests, I’ll be putting together a Shirtless Hotties of Young Justice gallery for you later. And they say comics have trouble attracting women. Pecs aside, episode 107 left me a bit underwhelmed, or just whelmed if I may borrow a term from Robin, who was sorely missed this episode. Also missed in this episode were costumes. I know they’re supposed to be a secret team, but the street clothes and stealth suites are getting a little too much screen time. Let’s not forget that this is a superhero cartoon — I want me some bright and flashy getups, dammit!

Read More

IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER THAN A GIRL’S FACE ON MY BEST FRIEND’S BODY?

by Jordan Michelman

“The Blue and The Gray” is a Valentine’s Day episode of The Simpsons about mortality. That’s right, say it again: a Valentine’s Day episode of The Simpsons about mortality. This is what I have to write about? This week, of all weeks? Is this what you’ve spun to me with such boundless cruelty, oh inimitable Wheel of Fortuna? Fine. That’s fine. I don’t believe in mortality, any more than I believe in Surgeon General Warnings or JFK conspiracies. And not every Valentine’s Day is awful, even if fate and evidence and even a cursory glance through one’s own personal history seem to laugh in the face of such assertions. Now I have to write about Valentine’s day and mortality in the same goddamn Simpsons recap, this week of all weeks, because sometimes God tells you to put it all on Red 22, and sometimes, after the roulette ball falls on Black 27, God says “fuck…”

Read More

PARENT SIGNATURE

By Emily Yoshida

Hey, guys, have you noticed? Despite being what I guess you might call a “fan”, I’m really unsentimental about British Skins. You can read my first recap for a more at-length discussion of my personal opinion about the overall quality of the series (excluding the current season, more on that later) and if you do, you know what I’m about to say is significant:

I really, really miss Peter Capaldi.

Read More

METAMORPHOSIS…MAYBE

by Sarah Marie

Ever since the Cheerios made that high-school-brave decision to ditch the red and white uniforms and embrace individuality, we’ve learned something of heightened importance:  Britney’s clothes really mean something. Rachel, openly derided for sweaters that “make her look home-schooled,” now fights to be remembered for inspiring the “librarian-schoolgirl-chic” trend that suddenly sweeps McKinley when Britney embraces embroidery and plain-Janity. Sew a pair of carousel horses across Rachel’s chest and you’ve got the epitome of uncool, but when they’re on Britney’s chest, you’ve got yourself the cover of Teen Vogue.

Read More

LOIS AND THE COCKROACHES

by Colleen Lobner

“Some things mean too much to yield,” Barb Henrickson says quietly at the dinner table. Therein lies the crux of the show, of course – a man so committed to his faith that he will stand up for it no matter how heatedly others oppose him. Now, as Big Love navigates its way to the end, it’s the women who are holding fast to their own unconventional convictions, most notably Barb herself. Homegirl is a maverick. So far, she has stayed true to her belief that women are entitled to an equal place in the Mormon religion…even after Bill tactfully suggests maybe Barb is trying to wear the pants all of a sudden because she doesn’t have any reason to exist now that she’s done popping out their kids. Can’t believe he WENT there!

Read More

I WOULD NEVER WANT TO BELONG TO ANY TEAM THAT HAD A FEMALE ME AS A MEMBER

by Riley Dashiell Biehl

Beach Party!!! As the summer draws to a close, the YJ team hits the beach for a little R&R. There’s swimming, volleyball, hot dogs, burying Superboy in the sand, and Megan’s taut little green teen body frolicking in the summer sun. Did you see the way her hair glistened as she splashed in the water? Sorry you’re back in school, Wally. Missing out on seeing your alien crush in a bikini is rough. Maybe she’ll post some pics on Facebook later. The contrasting scenes between the beach party and Wally at school bring in some easy but fun humor, a nice transition from the action-packed intro.

Read More