Yeah, I read about that- I also remember that the Jeeves & Wooster book that begins with Wooster asking "Anything in the paper, Jeeves?" and Jeeves responding "Some slight friction in the Balkans, sir. Other than that, nothing" was apparently written around 1917. Wodehouse was by most accounts a ridiculously naive…

The number of snarky internet comments made about Margaret Atwood would be a really good baseline for how persecuted the average science fiction fan feels. How dare this woman make novels with futuristic elements while refusing to demonstrate any familiarity with all the other novels out there that tend to use…

You can't spell "fucking around" without "a round fucking."

So basically, it's because commenters on this site are "parents of future overachievers"-types? "Look, we don't want to push you, show. We're watching you, and will like you no matter what. But we want you to ask yourself: Is a 'B-' really the sort of grade you'll look back on in your seventh season and be proud of?…

And of course Holt would be sufficiently disciplined as a 7-year-old to keep a regular diary.

Each generation has its own monsters. It's interesting reading the work of George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh, and other British writers who grew up in an era when Hitler and the Nazis didn't exist, because for them Napoleon is the preeminent example of a dangerous dictator who seduces a population to fulfill his own…

Well, if you were fifty, it was spoofing sitcom conventions that were around when you were in your late twenties. But yeah, impressive sketch, especially when you consider that it gives you a complete 25-minute sitcom plot in about 5 minutes, and leaves in all the transition bits where they would normally be.

I'd be unable to pass up a chance at SNL because I'd be convinced I could do better. I'm guessing that a lot of writers get into it that way, forget how much of the show's running order comes down to inter-office politics, and try to struggle through the quagmire for a while before finally leaving.

I couldn't believe that the first two live sketches they used after the monologue both failed to have any sort of "turn" or definitive end. It's not that hard to put a button on a sketch, especially since the vet clinic sketch has already been written, and they basically insert new animals into it Mad-Libs-style each…

Looks fucking awesome. Once again, my anger at Nickelodeon is fighting it out with my excitement at the new season being here so soon.

Luthor actually began as a Frankenstein-style mad scientist unleashing his creations irresponsibly, and then in the 70s and 80s he gradually became an evil CEO type. So the comics have gone back to the idea of Superman as an enemy of people who abuse their power (especially in Grant Morrison' new Action Comics, which…

I was going to argue with you, saying that the point of Batman is that he's effective, unlike the hockey-pads guys, who, no matter how courage-filled and gumption-heavy, probably would have been turned into Fear Gas zombies in short order had Batman not showed up. But then I remembered reading this news story a few…

But that's believing in all sorts of other unrelated stuff on top of "The One." The type of person whose belief in "The One" is going to make them actively stop seeking a mate and trust in destiny (or stay in a toxic relationship for the same reason) is not the kind of person who would do any better if you were able…

A year late, but here's the explanation: lots of people on this thread seemed to be very angry at Schmidt because he was acting like a douche, and claimed that the show's quality was suffering as a result. I thought it was entirely in keeping with the character as he had been established, and admired the show for its…

Mickey Spillane's been asking for them back for quite awhile, and Miller's going to be in deep trouble if he can't get them back to him by tomorrow.

The A.V. Club

Yeah, that happens to the comments section on every animated show ostensibly made for children, though- I imagine if Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was made today, the comments section would be full of people raving about how "dark" and "mature" the forest scene is, and how ballsy the movie is to kill its heroine…

BORING support roles? I was dying watching Mabel freaking out in the background after Soos hit it off with Melody.

I think we're all so busy laughing about the Hell joke that we haven't considered that Soos's abuelo may still be alive and Soos just doesn't know about it.

I read the story about Giffany as being about how videogames can infantilize people if they let the videogames become their whole life. Giffany isn't a vindictive, clingy ex-girlfriend-type because the show believes that's a stereotype worth keeping around- she's a vindictive, clingy ex-girlfriend-type because that's…