In retrospect Battlestar seems far more mediocre than I felt while watching it. Like "Lost", BSG had all the elements of what should have been an awesome show - great cast, great premise, a great look, big ideas, but the show never managed to really bring it all together.    At least "Lost" was fun much of the time -…

S6 is mostly a decent season, it's just that the lows ("Doublemeat Palace", Willow's addiction to magic) are so awful. But the musical episode alone would put S6 above S7.

Yes, this also why WKRP in Cincinatti DVDs are not satisfying.

" Sadly, what I did not find was a viable solution for watching the Region 2 DVD"

I would agree.  The novel deserves an A, the movie probably doesn't

I loved Monk right away coming from a non-jazz background, very easy to get what he was trying to do.  After 20 years I still find Evans pretty dull and have never understoond the love for "Waltz for Debbie."  It reminds me of a Sunday brunch with my grandparents.  I think rock fans often prefer angular.  I guess the…

I disagree, Monk was one of the first jazz musicians I got into. He was an actual composer, not just an improviser - which is more accessible for people who come from other music traditions.  He writes memorable melodies and his pieces, in his renditions anyway, don't tend to be very long.

You're absolutely correct, but I think for someone who's intimidated by jazz the fact that Ken Burns' has a very limited view is probably helpful to get started.  Neophytes probably aren't looking for "challenging" material anyway.  I say get them hooked on Armstrong, Parker, Monk and Miles and then let them develop…

Agree with you, both on the show and on Mr Rogers the person.

Easy answer - no.  Even when I was a four year old I knew that  The Electric Company was a  better show.

There are plenty of people out there who would probably find post 1970s fusion like Pat Metheney or Weather Report more accessible than "classic" jazz.  I'm not one of those people, but if you don't like Swing or Be-Bop very much that doesn't mean there isn't any jazz for you.  If you're a rock music fan you might…

Oz was groundbreaking and shocking.  The problem with the show was that it was not particularly fun.  The other dark shows on Sepinwall's list - the Wire, Sopranos, Breaking Bad have plenty of humorous moments and characters you like spending time with.   Oz is just relentless - few of the characters are sympathetic,…

Downton Abbey is popcorn TV - it's very entertaining but is not "essential" watching.  It is the sort of show that will have been completely forgotten in 5 years, and you will never really regret not watching it.  It's a soap opera for Anglophiles with a good cast (except Elizabeth McGovern, who is horrible, I am…

I'd say the Ken Burns series is a great introduction to get your feet wet - not the actual TV show, just the CD compilation issed to go with the show. Sure his selections are biased, but there's a lot of jazz out there, and the Ken Burns compilation is not a bad general survey of different styles and periods.  I don't…

If you found the first season "painful", I'm not sure why you liked the rest of the series to be honest.  On the other hand, I agree that it is easier to overlook the flaws in S1 after you've seen S2 and S3.  S1 of Buffy also seems more dated now with the emphasis on fakey teenage slang, gee whiz internet plots and…

I agree that the best way to get into jazz is to buy a "greatest hits" survey compilation like the music used in the Ken Burns' series (I think it's 4 CDs, hardly overwhelming), give that a few listens and then start drilling down on whatever artist strikes your fancy.

If you like "Buffy" at all there is plenty about Season 1 to like.  If you don't like Season 1, I don't know what you would find interesting about the rest of the series.

If you don't like the first season of Buffy, just give up. There is plenty of hilarious and witty writing in Season One and "Prophecy Girl" is one the show's better episodes. If the sub-par acting and cheesy fx bother you, well, than you are the type of person who is never going to love the show.

Well, isn't this kind of thinking how rock music went off the rails in the early 70s? "Oh sure, you can craft a brilliant 3 minute pop song, now where's your album length tone poem about Middle Earth?"

By what criteria must a TV script be a priori inferior to, say, a play?   Do you consider playwrights lower than novelists on your sliding scale?  I submit that The Wire is certainly better written than 90% of the novels being published today.  Good TV writing often gets dismissed because the final product tends to be…