Holy shit, I just looked at the ratings for the new episodes. Hilarious.

I'd rather see a show about black families during the Reconstruction, rather than white Southerners during the Civil War- which I suspect would just be ugly and miserable after a couple of hours.

Uh…how is that ignorant? It is generally the case that most shows, especially comedies, receive less critical interest as they age. I wasn't making a comment on the show's quality [which I can't speak to because i got bored of the show midway through S2].

It'll be Luck of the Fryish or Jurassic Bark, I'd say

Well, it's in its 10th season. Hard for a lot of people (and I'd say especially critics) to get excited about something so old and familiar. I'm sure if the AV Club covered TV back when Sunny was new, it would've been all the rage in the way Broad City is now.

Last week: gee, there's really been very little of interest on TV in the last couple of months.

Why is it that fans of IASIP around here are always angry about something?

I adored the second season of The Venture Bros, but it just took me a pretty long time to finish S4. It was all so convoluted and sometimes hard to follow, and yet underneath the surface there had been almost no actual developments. Pieces were shuffled around, but nothing really changed in a compelling fashion. Still…

I am very glad for that opening line, for I feared you commenters had got through this entire comments section without once referencing Fry's concern about his sombrero.

Well, how many shows genuinely have buzz in their 6th season, unless they're ending?

But the thing is: 'genre' does not refer just to sci-fi and fantasy, it refers to all forms of TV (and books etc) that are not 'literary fiction.' Ergo, crime shows are also genre. Also, many sci-fi/fantasy shows are built around strong formulas (not a knock) so the association isn't entirely incorrect.

Spartacus ain't prestige. It's good, but it's good because it is trying to be the very opposite of prestige.

Yeah those two shows reveal how this can be a very vague category.

Good article Noel.

Meh, there are different types of critics. Find those that match up with your general way of viewing things and they'll rarely lead you too far astray. All the critics I follow panned The Following.

I'd argue part of it is that 'genre' on TV means 'procedural/formulaic,' which is always going to be associated to some extent with 'lacks thematic depth,' whether that perception is correct or not.

Noel himself said that prestige didn't mean good, just what the show aspired to be. The Newsroom was just TV's equivalent of shitty Oscar bait.

No, I think Hannibal lays claim to being prestige TV.

And you, I don't know who you are but I'M SURE YOU'RE A JERK

I knew all this going in. Still a great watch, still an incredibly ending. Any piece of art worth its salt overcomes pre-knowledge (unless you're a particularly obsessed spoilerphobe).