I agree, it’s gross to see somebody leave a restroom without washing hands. On the other hand, a lot of places still don’t have no-touch faucets. Or the door to the bathroom opens inward, so you have to grab a handle to exit. So then you try and manage the whole thing of turning the faucet off with your elbow, or…

It’s coming: The moment of ultimate Wes Anderson whimsey. Is the world ready? On July 24, prepare to find out.

You never wanna go full Wes Anderson whimsey.

I would love to see either tackle Ordinary People.

Apples to oranges, though, in terms of themes and style. Well, at least later Allen. Early Allen was pretty absurdist. But still, with Allen it was always all about him and his neurosis. Anderson certainly loves him some neurotic oddballs, but it’s usually more of an ensemble thing.

I chart Mars Attacks! as the beginning of his decline. It was totally, 100% within his verve, but it received only middling reviews and audience reception. After that his films have felt like they’re missing a bit of that irreverent spirit. In fact, I recall Big Fish being received almost like a comeback, and that was…

Well, I’m sure WB’s dream is to emulate the Disney model by taking every single piece of any DC related property they own and expanding it out into its own franchise, hopefully then expanding those out into franchises of their own, in some sort of never-ending fractal pattern.

They lack a kind of understanding of the visual language of Star Trek that would have made the new shows seem like it was part of the same world, but depicted with more detail and scope.

First, wonderful to see this sort of thoughtful, long form essay. Reminds me of AV Club glory days past.

Oh, there was definitely a lot of sci fi in syndication, such as Babylon 5, DS9's bitter rival. But lots of other genres were covered as well. Who could forget the Lorenzo Lamas actioner vehicle Renegade, the twin fantasy/action juggernauts Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, and of course the…

Didn’t Paramount auction off pretty much all of their stockpile of props and costumes accumulated since about the time of The Motion Picture around the time Enterprise got cancelled? I understand the move to HD necessitated a substantial rethinking of how stuff was designed and finished, so maybe most of it just wouldn…

I don’t recall TNG being much of a critical darling during its first two seasons. I believe it survived because it was profitable. The somewhat unique for its day first run syndication model is probably responsible for that more than anything else. In fact, TNG was sort of at the forefront of a wave of first run…

Yeah, Star Trek, particularly TV Star Trek, production design has usually been a case of, “Well, they’re doing a fantastic job considering what they’re given to work with.” Put slightly differently, longtime Trek designer Michael Okuda once said that Star Trek is always “high expectations on a low budget.” That’s one…

To me, the popularity of a show like Undercover Boss is of a piece of the popularity of Fox News, and of Twinkies. They’re terrible for the people who consume them, but they also represent precisely what those people want. You can argue all day long about whether there’s some sort of “responsibility” on the part of…

The poor Republican philosophy is that rich people are the only people you can actually trust, because they’re very open and up front about only being into helping themselves. Liberals are just saying they want to help you, but really they’re working out some sort of side deal for themselves.

I remember the Hooters episode. A couple of things stand out: First, they actually showed the factory where they make the sauce for their wings. There’s a shot of a bunch of disgustingly viscous, day glow orange sauce being extruded out of a tube. I was shocked that they would actually allow them to show something…

He would also need to forgo his premium health benefits, and raise a whole family on what he makes, while working as hard as his employees work. 

To this day I despise this film, mostly because it ruined the T.V. show for me. It’s not like the show was Shakespeare or anything, but every now and again TNT or some other basic cable channel would have a marathon, and it was a fun way to waste a few hours. But now if it comes on I think of how bad this movie was.

The funny thing is, for several years afterward Chinatown was touted as the “perfect” script by a lot of screenwriting guides. I always wondered if they were really reading it in its original form, or after Polanski’s revision.

Ah yes, the crane shot.