Although it came out more recently than the famous Thrawn trilogy (which I reviewed in recent posts), I didn’t remember the details of “Specter of the Past” (1997) as starkly as those more-heralded books. As I suspected and confirmed on this re-reading, that’s more a matter of the Thrawn trilogy’s place in the “Star Wars” pantheon rather […]
In the early days of TV, every episode was a standalone, so if you missed an episode you wouldn’t get lost. Eventually, we started to see more serial TV with ongoing stories that rewarded regular viewers. “Fringe” (8 p.m. Central Fridays, Fox), now in its fifth and final season, is the next iteration: I’ve seen every episode, […]
Although “Revolution” has the sexier sci-fi concept, “Last Resort” (7 p.m. Central Thursdays, ABC) is this fall’s new show most worthy of watercooler buzz. It starts off with a gripping 20 minutes that deftly introduces us to the characters and the shocking mystery that all future events will be based on: Why did the United States order […]
“New Girl” (8 p.m. Central Tuesdays, Fox) opened its two-part second-season premiere in its same comfort zone as last season. It’s good but not great, fun but forgettable, likable but not quite lovable.
Nat Faxon, the Ben in “Ben and Kate” (7:30 p.m. Central Tuesdays, Fox) is a mix of Ed Helms from “The Office” and the more likable side of Adam Sandler. He’s a complete goofball, but — like Mindy Kaling of “The Mindy Project,” this fall’s other exciting new sitcom — he’s also a writer, and he has […]
“The Last Command” (1993) is a rich, rousing final chapter to Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, but looking back on it through the lens of the prequels, it’s perhaps most notable for what the author doesn’t include. Although clones provide a major backdrop to the story, we don’t actually get to know any clones other than Dark […]
“Parks and Recreation” (8:30 p.m. Central Thursdays, NBC) started off its fifth season this week with an episode that was ambitious in terms of setting (Washington, D.C.) and casting (a few Senatorial cameos), but also stayed in its comfort zone.
When “The Office” started to go south a few years ago, I hoped the show would shift its focus to underused secondary characters such as Mindy Kaling’s Kelly Kapoor. That never happened, and I gradually lost interest.
At first glance, “Revolution” (9 p.m. Central Mondays, NBC, starts Monday) can be safely categorized with “Dark Angel,” “Lost,” “Terra Nova,” “Falling Skies” and “The Walking Dead” as a post-apocalyptic show (in the case of “Lost,” it was post-apocalyptic for the characters, not for the world at large). Basically, the world exists as we viewers know it, […]
“Parenthood” (9 p.m. Central Tuesdays, NBC) starts Season 4 with a combination of a pitch-perfect life threshold yarn (Haddie goes off to college), a funny family-dynamic oddity (Crosby finds his son praying) and a believable issue that you don’t see explored too often on TV (Julia is finding it hard to love her adopted son).