Two of the coolest, and rarest, things on TV are surprise and ambiguity. Not just "We're soooo complex" surprise/ambiguity, but real, stunning "What the bleep is happening?!" Two words: Andy Kaufman...

2010

Apr

FLICK PICKS: FUN WITH SPLIT SCREENS AND FILM FESTIVALS By Diane Werts

Just old movies? Think again. Turner Classic Movies is always thinking outside the box that holds the Warner/MGM film library from which the channel was launched 16 years ago this week. They've added lots more titles, many of them newer, and they've found increasingly clever ways to lovingly package their film presentations for both edification and sheer fun...

2010

Apr

DVD UPDATE: SERIOUS SOAP, CIRCA '80S By Diane Werts

At least Dallas had a sense of humor. Larry Hagman's adulterous oil man J.R. Ewing? C'mon. He had his tongue firmly in-cheek through all his dastardly deeds...

2010

Apr

SEE HERE: SUE SYLVESTER STRIKES A POSE By Diane Werts

C'mon, vogue! You can do it already, even though Sue Sylvester's Glee music video doesn't hit Fox air till April 20. Jane Lynch makes a pretty good Madonna. This isn't a Vogue parody, folks. It's tribute...

2010

Apr

DVD UPDATE: 'PARTY DOWN' By Diane Werts

Party Down came out of nowhere to become one of my favorite shows, and I'm not the only one. There's a sizable cult for this little Starz comedy gem about a team of Hollywood cater-waiters who'd rather be (pick one) actors, screenwriters, comedians or other credits-worthy creatives...

2010

Apr

FLASHBACK: 'TWIN PEAKS,' 20 YEARS LATER By Diane Werts

Hard to believe it's been two decades since TV's weirdest show hit the screen. Hard. Twin Peaks still looks mondo bizarro, so you can only imagine (or maybe remember) how truly warped this serial surreality seemed in the network midst of Matlock and Murder, She Wrote...

2010

Apr

DVD UPDATE: ABBOTT & COSTELLO GO INSANE! By Diane Werts

"How dare you remind me of somebody I hate?!" With that woman passerby's out-of-the-blue stoopside smack attack, umbrella whack and furious stomp-away, I was hooked...

2010

Apr

FLICK PICKS: APRIL SALUTES TO GEORGE STEVENS, ROBERT TAYLOR By Diane Werts

Monday night's George Stevens roundup kicks off April's director of the month tribute from Turner Classic Movies, screening three of Stevens' biggest titles and his own son's acclaimed clip-filled salute. The Texas-sized 1956 epic Giant...

2010

Apr

CONFESSION: THE GUY I WANT TO BE By Diane Werts

Not that I want to be a guy, but I do want to be as smart as my favorite TV blogger, Jaime Weinman. Or should I say, as observant -- Jaime elucidates things in shows, in trends, in tropes, even in shot styles and set design, that I just kick myself for not being able to address as clearly...

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