Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.

On May 4, 1970, National Guard soldiers fired their rifles into a crowd on the campus of Ohio’s Kent State University during a student protest against President Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia. Nine people were wounded and four were killed. Americans reacted to the violence with shock and dismay, but the public debate…

Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.

Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.

Scripted television has never done relevance well, and the hippie era was an especially ugly moment of disconnect between what was happening on the streets and inside the tube. Instead of greeting the peace-love-dope movement with respect or at least curiosity, cop shows like Dragnet and Ironside depicted hippies as…

With so many new series popping up on streaming services and DVD, it gets harder and harder to keep up with recent shows, much less the all-time classics. With TV Club 10, we point you toward the 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. They might not be the 10 best episodes, but they’re the 10…

For most of the history of television, the barrier to syndication—and to profitability—has been 100 episodes. The shows that have made it to that mark are an unusual group. Many were big hits. Some found small cult audiences. Still others just hung on as best they could and never posted numbers quite low enough to be…

For most of the history of television, the barrier to syndication—and to profitability—has been 100 episodes. The shows that have made it to that mark are an unusual group. Many were big hits. Some found small cult audiences. Still others just hung on as best they could and never posted numbers quite low enough to be…

1. The IBM System 360, Mad Men: “The Monolith” (2014)
The newest hire at Sterling Cooper & Partners in 1969 is a room-sized supercomputer that has, to date, displaced the creative team and driven Michael Ginsberg to a psychotic break. As it turns out, the supercomputer is a staple of ’60s fiction, from science fiction,…

1. Mila Kunis, Two And A Half Men
Being on a long-running sitcom has plenty of benefits for an actor. The pay is good, and the hours are relatively consistent and short. But it can also become a drag to play the same character year after year, to deliver the same punchlines or catchphrases. Perhaps that’s why so many…

“Television’s boneyard has crooked its gnarled, beckoning finger toward The Richard Boone Show,” wrote one gloomy critic in February 1964. It makes sense to begin at the end with The Richard Boone Show, which became famous in its time less for the show it was than for the heated, unhappy debate it inspired over the…

1. Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Most of the time when a character dies on TV, it’s because the series’ writers have decided it’s the right time for the character’s story to end, especially in our era of highly serialized dramas. But sometimes, a character dies not because the producers thought it best, but because it…

For most of the history of television, the barrier to syndication—and to profitability—has been 100 episodes. The shows that have made it to that mark are an unusual group. Many were big hits. Some found small cult audiences. Still others just hung on as best they could and never posted numbers quite low enough to be…

1. True Detective, “Who Goes There”
The fourth episode of True Detective has brought new attention to a TV necessity: the long shot, often taking the form of a tracking shot. Such shots are frequently celebrated in film—think of Martin Scorsese’s use of tracking shots over the years, or the self-parodying opening of…

A few months ago, The A.V. Club gave you 26 great, currently running shows to watch over a long weekend. But since this holiday weekend is even longer, we thought we’d give you the binge list containing 33 completed—sometimes long completed—shows. After you’re done filling yourself with turkey, fill yourself with some…

With so many new series popping up on streaming services and DVD every day, it gets harder and harder to keep up with new shows, much less the all-time classics. With TV Club 10, we point you toward the 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. If you watch these 10, you’ll have a better idea of…

1. New Year’s Day: thirtysomething, “Happy New Year” (1990)
People looking to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas with their favorite TV show are almost certainly in luck. A show that’s on the air in the fall has a better-than-average chance of airing episodes in October, November, and December; almost…

For most of the history of television, the barrier to syndication—and to profitability—has been 100 episodes. The shows that have made it to that mark are an unusual group. Many were big hits. Some found small cult audiences. Still others just hung on as best they could and never posted numbers quite low enough to be…

With so many new series popping up on streaming services and DVD every day, it gets harder and harder to keep up with new shows, much less the all-time classics. With TV Club 10, we point you toward the 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. If you watch these 10, you’ll have a better idea of…

Ever since its 2008 debut, Vince Gilligan’s saga about the world’s unlikeliest meth kingpin has coasted on a wave of zeitgeist affirmation. It’s the most over-praised entry in television’s present golden age, a show that mixes a slim test tube of thrilling ideas with a fat Erlenmeyer flask full of derivative and…