I am someone who has experience in selling property rights for adaptations. The original creator, unless they're a big name in their own right, usually has zero power to dictate casting, and oftentimes isn't in a position to turn down the money a studio or production company is offering. Those that sell usually just…

Eh. I don't think this is really surprising news to anyone. Martin's always been slow. For me, the writing was on the wall when we reached season four last year without anything concrete in motion from St. Martin's.

I'd agree. But even if the writing faltered, I think Maslany's work didn't. But I can see how a downer season would overshadow even her best work.

I think that applies to last season. The writing really stepped up its game this year. I'd personally put it above even season five—though I admit that might be less to do with the writing and more because Twelve very quickly solidified himself as my favorite Doctor.

Neither Peter Capaldi nor Tatiana Maslany are on this list, and the only logical explanation for this I can think of is that the AVClub doesn't get BBC America.

Once you see it, you'll find the comparison to be more than acceptable.

I can honestly and unironically say that Jupiter Ascending was my favorite movie of this year. I delighted in how terrible it was the way one delights in the sheer unhealthiness of a slice of bacon-pecan pie. It's not just bad; it's inspired in how bad it is, and so goddamn sincere, and I loved it for that.

Right? I was so, so happy to see it (or any anime at all, really) included on this shortlist.

Mmm, I'm not so sure. Yeah, he's never cooked in a restaurant, but he also wrote, directed, and starred in eleven straight years of Good Eats, on top of all his other commitments to Food Network, his live shows, his books, and helping GE develop a whole new kind of oven. I'd say the man can handle himself. He just…

Alton Brown is the best guest to have on talk shows or morning shows, because the host always wants to goof around while he's just trying to get the goddamn dish in the fucking oven already. It's so funny, watching him struggle to hang onto his patience and be a proper southern gentleman while Craig Ferguson is…

I deeply enjoy Cutthroat Kitchen, but I (and for that matter, Alton) don't think of it as a straight-up cooking show. Rather, it's a game show where the challenges are cooking-based. And a big part of my enjoyment comes from Alton, who takes the role of trolling DM and plays it to the hilt, evil laughs and all.

And he'd make sure to use dazzling demonstrations of science to make the process both efficient and fun!

Actually, for his birthday he decided to take this year off from drinking.

I adore Saga, but I think it's got enough press in its corner. I appreciate lists like these spotlighting some less prominent releases.

I'm with you on Chew. It's been slice after slice top-notch storytelling from day one, but it never seems to get any love from lists or columns like these.

Interviewer: "Why did you decide to appear in [Dungeons & Dragons]?"
Jeremy Irons: "Are you kidding? I'd just bought a castle. I had to pay for it somehow!"

Hollywoo Stars & Celebrities: How Tall Are They? Are They Tall? Let's Find Out!

I would've been fine with them casting a Chinese/Korean/Filipino/whatever actor to play Light, if not an ethnically Japanese actor. The point I'm making here is that there are so, so many stories specifically for white actors. And then there are stories that aren't about people of any specific ethnicity, which in…

If memory serves, the major reason people were pissed was because of the historical enmity between China and Japan, which had been especially stoked because of some remarks the Japanese Prime Minister had made in the press around the time of the film's release. Also, your example doesn't actually address my point,…

Except now you're arguing with the presupposition that white is the default for an American, and my existence (and that of millions of Americans like me) contravenes that.