These are all good answers, but the correct answer is the Chronicles of Amber.  It has a huge and vivid cast, a fun and fast-paced tone, and a setting in which pretty much any kind of serialized or episodic story can be told.

I've read most of the Oz books, and this is a case where the opposite is true.  The movie is clearly superior to the books in every way.

I've read most of the Oz books, and this is a case where the opposite is true.  The movie is clearly superior to the books in every way.

If we're going to adjust for population differences, then it's arguable that we should also include things like dvd sales and rentals as additional "tickets," since back in the day your only chance to see a film was in the theater.  Somebody who loved Gone With the Wind had to see it in the theater if they wanted to…

If we're going to adjust for population differences, then it's arguable that we should also include things like dvd sales and rentals as additional "tickets," since back in the day your only chance to see a film was in the theater.  Somebody who loved Gone With the Wind had to see it in the theater if they wanted to…

The vampire is based on Svengoolie, a mInor Chicagoland celebrity who hosts B movies on local tv. He made an appearance at the pet store down then block from me last Halloween.

I agree that Rabin is right about the politics of the episode. On the other hand, I found this episode very funny with a lot of great jokes.

You actually have it backwards — the original Dilbert strip featured a lot of plot and wacky situations, with weekly continuity and long-term schemes by dogbert, etc.  The interaction between Dogbert and Dilbert in the early strips reminds me of Pearls Before Swine in some ways.

You're absolutely right.  Adele's first album is a lot stronger with a lot less blah.

In the Iliad, it's difficult to account for the gods choices of when and where to apply force.  They theoretically have control over a variety of natural forces, but are restrained in their intervention.  Characters in the Iliad (and in ancient epic in general) seem to know the future and what will happen to them, but…

Miller, Thanks for your interesting comments.  The Grey King is definitely the strongest book in the series, and I don't think it's that close.  Cooper is just much more interested in the emotional relationships and moral struggles of her characters than she is about the limits of their magical abilities.

This article is an elegant explanation of an assumption that underlies a lot of discussion of fantasy and sci-fi on the internet, but is rarely articulated.  That said, I disagree.  Starting with Homer, there's been a lot of great fantasy and sci-fi which doesn't depend on a consistent depiction of the rules of the…

I feel like Quidditch can be saved if you assume that the majority of matches are very long, high-scoring affairs, along the lines of cricket, like the three day professional matches we hear about.  Then catching the snitch is just a nice bonus, not the only thing that matters.  The problem is that every Quidditch…

So what you're saying is that you really liked this movie, but you're too cool to admit that you liked it, so you gave it a B-.

I just read the second and third paragraphs.  Other commenters, I was wrong, you were right.

This is the season premiere of the Simpsons.  It seems appropriate to take a moment to talk about the show's place in the zeitgeist. The commenters before me are just upset about all the multi-syllabic words.  They also dislike sentences which they have to slow down in order to read.  Don't feel bad.

Not only did angels do it, but multiple characters clearly explained that angels were doing it, over and over again, in almost every episode of the series.  It's the furthest thing from a dropped plotline.

People who have worked on SNL are always telling stories about how crazy the production schedule is, but they never seem to be willing to acknowledge that the schedule is directly responsible for the desperately unfunny work the show's talented comedians have been producing for over 30 years. As any fan of Ken…

The secret of Bill Simmons is that he is not a sportswriter. He is a TV critic.

I believe that no one alive can tell the difference between a 256k mp3 and a FLAC with the best possible audio equipment.