Linda Holmes

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Cancellation Blues And Cultural Etiquette

Linda Holmes — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:24:00 +0000

To mark network upfronts week, we talk in this episode about the cancellation of shows, including the ones that came and went that we honestly can hardly remember as well as the ones — like ABC's delightful, hilarious Happy Endings — that break our hearts.

Notes On A 'Scandal': Fitz Is The Most Dumpable Man On Television

Linda Holmes — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:32:00 +0000

If you watch Scandal, you know that there, Fitzgerald Grant is the President of the United States, and that he goes by "Fitz." Now "Fitz," let's face it, is already a pretty punchable name, given that combined with his personality, it makes him sound like somebody with a beanie and a lot of polo shirts grew up, got even richer, had a son, and taught him how to give swirlies to the math team.

While The Audience Turned Away, 'American Idol' Found Some Great Singers

Linda Holmes — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:11:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMet8T87JU8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-aAwKQ2CMQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp1x6Mbs5SA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beUD20VZ8Fg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64S5Rn9mlxs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRTVnSioKDQ

A Farewell To 'The Office': The 10 Best Episodes

Linda Holmes — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:39:00 +0000

It really only hit yesterday: It's the end of The Office.

After nine seasons, Dunder Mifflin is going dark Thursday night, with an hour-long retrospective at 8:00 and a 75-minute episode at 9:00 that may or may not feature a cameo from Steve Carell.

What's On TV This Fall? The Networks Roll Out Their New Shows

Linda Holmes — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:31:00 +0000

This was the week of the broadcast network "upfront" presentations, which are the splashy ads for new programming that networks show to advertisers to entice them into ignoring their fears that everybody is fast-forwarding through all the commercials anyway.

Because the trailers for the new shows are ads, just like movie trailers are, it's critically important not to draw conclusions about what will be good and bad based on those ads when you bump into them. For one thing, a lot of shows will be retooled to some degree before they actually air.

Why Angelina Jolie's Op-Ed Matters

Linda Holmes — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:28:00 +0000

Pop culture does not mean celebrity culture; I have perhaps said this more often than anyone you're going to meet. Who dates, who gets a divorce, who has a tantrum, who has surreptitious photos snapped of him by mangy, grim opportunists — these things are not culture of any kind, popular or otherwise, unless there is something else at stake. They are curiosities, and given that we are curious creatures, their pull is not surprising, nor is it new, nor was it invented by the internet, or television, or Americans.

'Space Oddity' In Space: Yes, Astronauts Are Still The Coolest Humans

Linda Holmes — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:16:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo

Watch The First Trailer For ABC's 'Avengers' Follow-Up

Linda Holmes — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:05:00 +0000

Over the weekend, ABC posted a trailer for Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., its fall show (time slot and premiere date to come) that jumps off from Marvel's Avengers universe, as seen in all kinds of movies that have made all kinds of money.

The series, created by Avengers director and TV veteran Joss Whedon, focuses on Coulson (Clark Gregg), who is apparently doing a lot better than he might have been last time you saw him, by whatever good fortune.

Christopher Guest Comes To HBO With A 'Family' Comedy That's Serious

Linda Holmes — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

Christopher Guest has made so many people laugh since he started making mock documentaries with This Is Spinal Tap in 1984 that his fans might be surprised to hear his response to Scott Simon's question on Saturday's Weekend Edition about whether he ever thinks about making a serious movie.

Referencing Family Tree, his new show for HBO starring Chris O'Dowd as a man discovering his roots, Guest says that even with comedy, the emotional content can still be critical.

"To me, this is serious," he says. "And I'm not trying to be glib.

Loving 'Gatsby' Too Much And Not Enough

Linda Holmes — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:41:00 +0000

[I really hope it goes without saying that this piece about the film adaptation of a decades-old novel gives away the plot of a decades-old novel. But: Be aware.]

The sheer zazz that Baz Luhrmann introduces into The Great Gatsby is so imposing in quantity that it's surprising that it can get out of the way enough not to be the biggest problem in the movie.