The hatred and self-hatred in this show is over the top. You can almost hear the article some sociologist will no doubt write, "Attitudes Toward Obesity in America and The Biggest Loser." I was not surprised when I heard some of Jillian Michael's comments about weight (like, re: pregnancy "I would never do that to…

Oh, CLEARLY. I had heard people talk about this show for years as an uplifting, inspiring self-improvement hour, and I was horrified the first time I saw it. First up, any weight loss plan will tell you that you shouldn't lose more than 1-2 lbs per week. It doesn't make for fascinating TV (or short, cheap shooting…

Seriously- Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Ancient Indian Burial ground is going to feature two white dudes having a threeway with the ghost of a Hopi woman on top of a pile of smallpox blankets in the burial ground. And one of the white dudes will be wearing a conquistador helmet. And it will be scored with…

There are some good websites out there, and the version I have (Penguin?) has great, voluminous notes. I ended up reading it like Pale Fire</i):>

Master and Margarita is a great book, and a really fun read. It's worth ponying up for an edition with some detailed notes, though- otherwise it can be almost impenetrable. I read it for a course in college and I remember going to class every day and the prof listing all the Soviet cultural/governmental references…

If you have Comcast, you can watch it through their on demand service. Weirdly, it's not listed as one of the TV shows available. You have to go to the list of BBC America shows. I have a very specific set of knowledge…

Thanks for the link! I also had no idea this existed until I read this review- and since I don't have DirectTV and don't really pirate stuff, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find this.

Extremely late to the party, but thanks for this post.  I think Nicole Holofcener is brilliant- I can't think of any writer/director who does a better job with characters.  And no one writes women as well as she does.  I'm tired of fighting the snarky "first world problems" comments, especially since her movies often…