Charles Burnett is directing the season two premiere. I can make that joke with a straight face because this is an internet comment.

I'm in love with this comment thread.

I absolutely love the phrase "Ancient West African proverb," which implies the West Africans are still pumping out proverbs left and right, just not at the quality level of the golden era.

All true. I've made the necessary changes. Thanks!

No worries, I have thick skin, especially around my midsection. I really appreciate the thoughtful response. I ask because the vague, "je ne sais quoi" kind of talk people engage in to describe what makes Empire worth watching fascinates me and strikes me as sort of insidious. I think you're mostly right about what is…

Yeah I think this list illustrates my point, I don't think there's necessarily a difference between the two. I think a nighttime soap can be "quality drama" if it's executed well, and so separating a list like this using those parameters isn't possible.

This is where I get confused…how is a well-made and acted show with good, original music not "quality?" Is a nighttime soap ineligible for unqualified praise?

You've got me genuinely curious here. Do me the favor of completing the following sentence: Empire is not a "quality drama," it's a…

See I totally get that…there are few reactions to art more enjoyable than "I'm not even totally sure why I'm enjoying the hell out of this, but I'm enjoying the hell out of this." I absolutely understand the show's appeal, and I don't think anybody who loves it is "watching it wrong." I just tend to react when dissent…

This line of reasoning baffles me. A show can be good without being "prestige television," and many fantastic shows won't be lining up for Emmys any time soon. Revenge, for example, is a trashy, nighttime soap that slayed in its first season because it was so well-executed. There's no such thing as a genre—including…

Valiant effort!

Completely agree. I do think Spike should be more gracious at times, but when he was sharply criticizing Tyler Perry, some people acted as though one of the foremost black filmmakers somehow wasn't entitled to an opinion on Perry's work.

Anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who claims not to be turned on by that D'Angelo video is telling a lie.

One thing I loved about that scene was the ambiguity. My read was that, as is often the case with a family member suffering from mental illness, there's denial around it. Everyone is well aware something "isn't quite right" but try to ignore it because they're scared and feel ill-equipped to address it.

I won't! Y'know…unless I do.

I don't get my grading anymore either. I'm kidding, but it's a gut thing and it can be really hard to quantify how I felt about an episode of a show like Girls.

I see all of your points, and I like your interpretation of the Fiona stuff. That said, there's a difference between being hung up on JJS and just not seeing the value in the character. To say I'm hung up on him implies I'm overstating his importance to the story, and I don't think that's the case. The writers…

Seriously? Wow…

I'd argue said conversation can be short and unserious: 1.) My Mom calls me Joshie Pooh. 2.) I love my Mom. 3.) @joshiepooh was taken 4.) I added "real" as a goof on celebrity Twitter accounts, and as a nod to the title of a Loose Ends record I like. 5.) Chicken butt.

I still remember attending a super-early screening of Precious. I called my Mom and said, "This is going to sound crazy, but Mo'Nique is going to win an Oscar." She goes, "Mo'Nique who? Not the lady from The Parkers." It was such a surprising performance, her victory seemed like a foregone conclusion before the…