First episode impressions: ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ (TV review)
For five seasons, “The Walking Dead” has revealed the flaws of societal structure through a world struggling to rebuild that structure. But we never saw the actual process of the stripping away of society. In the pilot episode, Rick wakes up from his coma post-apocalypse, and other characters haven’t talked about the initial outbreak much,
John’s 10 favorite TV characters at the moment (Commentary)
Here are my 10 favorite characters of the moment on shows that recently concluded their season, are ongoing or will soon return for the summer season:
For current popular shows, what’s the end game? (TV commentary)
By their very nature, some shows have end games and some don’t. A show about families and relationships, like “Parenthood,” simply looks for a grace note (and it found a good one in its series finale in January); it’s not as if it can end with everyone’s life in a state of perpetual perfection. At
Have the communists won on ‘The Walking Dead?’ Not likely (TV commentary)
In Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead” (8 p.m. Central Sundays on AMC), Alexandria leader Deanna jokes to Rick “I guess the communists won.” She offers Rick and Michonne the jobs of constables, which they accept, and says she’s in the process of coming up with the ideal jobs for the rest of Rick’s group. Upcoming episodes
John’s top 10 TV shows of 2014
These were my 10 favorite shows of 2014: 1. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (Season 6, Netflix) – “The Clone Wars” saves the best for last with arcs delving into the Order 66 brainwashing, Palpatine’s manipulations to take over the galactic banking system, and Yoda’s surprising encounter with a dark avatar and his first communication with a
Is ‘The Walking Dead’ embarking on a ‘Dark Rick’ arc? (TV commentary)
Everyone is (rightly) reacting to the shocking end of Sunday’s mid-season finale of “The Walking Dead,” but the biggest moment in terms of reverberations for future stories might’ve happened before the opening credits. Bob No. 2 is running back to the hospital and doesn’t stop when Rick orders it from the police car’s loudspeaker. Rick rams Bob
‘Walking Dead’s’ ‘Slabtown’ delivers perfect treatise on evils of taxation (TV commentary)
“The Walking Dead” (8 p.m. Central Sundays on AMC) rarely gets mentioned when lists of “most libertarian TV shows” are compiled, but that might change when the series ends and we see the full picture. Season 5 in particular seems to be embarking on multi-episode vignettes about various forms of government that could arise in makeshift
Can we all agree that locking people in train cars and killing and eating them is wrong? (TV commentary)
Sunday’s episode of “Talking Dead,” which followed the fifth-season premiere of “The Walking Dead” (8 p.m. Central Sundays on AMC), asked viewers if they thought Rick’s gang was justified in mowing down everyone in Terminus. Giving me a spark of faith in humanity, 97 percent said yes.
Fall TV 2014: ‘Gotham’ and a handful of other shows worth checking out (Commentary)
A year ago, I announced that the lineup of new fall shows was the worst in two decades, and although I ended up liking (and now mourning, since they were canceled) “Almost Human” and “Super Fun Night,” I think my prognostication was accurate. Now I’m here to say that the fall of 2014 looks worse.
John’s 10 favorite TV characters at the moment (Commentary)
The recent return of “24” further solidifies that this is an age of shock-value TV, where the body count of main characters is more valued than good character building. But TV’s reputation as a character medium isn’t dead yet. Here are 10 reasons why: