Category: TV

Soap, No Bubbles

On By Mark PerigardIn TVLeave a comment

ABC’s “General Hospital” has been riding high from the publicity of Emmy-winning late-night host John Oliver’s recent cameo and the celebration for the show’s 16,000 episode.

Both achievements should be lauded.

Oliver straddled the line between creepy and camp as the mysterious Z, head of the international spy agency WSB.

And in a time when daytime serials are endangered, “General Hospital’s” longevity is remarkable, the last survivor of ABC’s once formidable daytime lineup.

But the show seems to be scripted by graduates of the Tyler Perry School of Serials: all complications, few payoffs.

Continue reading “Soap, No Bubbles” →

We Don’t Talk Enough About ‘Dark Shadows’ audiobooks

On By Mark PerigardIn Books, TVLeave a comment

“Dark Shadows,” the much beloved gothic soap opera, marks its 60th anniversary this month.

The show ran but for five years, from 1966-1971, but its afterlife seems eternal.

The entire series is available on DVD, in a gorgeous coffin set, with hours of extras.

Over the years, the serial has been repurposed and rebooted into everything from big-screen films, a primetime series, comic books, paperback novels, a newspaper comic strip, “making-of” tribute books, trading cards, t-shirts, jigsaw puzzles, a ViewMaster set, and even bobbleheads.

And yet even some of the most ardent fans know nothing of the audiobooks.

Continue reading “We Don’t Talk Enough About ‘Dark Shadows’ audiobooks” →

The Golden Age of ‘Star Trek’ is Over. What Next?

On By Mark PerigardIn TVLeave a comment

The cancellation of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” was inevitable.

When White House Chief Nazi Stephen Miller took time out of his busy schedule of harassing immigrants to blast the show in January, he was telling David Ellison, owner of Paramount, to eliminate this “woke” garbage.

Ellison readily gutted CBS News to appease Miller’s boss, Geriatric Joffrey, so that he wouldn’t object to any of their multi-billion dollar mergers.

This show didn’t stand a chance.

Miller’s objection was a siren call for the incels to review bomb the fledgling show about a group of racially diverse young people coming into their own in Starfleet.

Continue reading “The Golden Age of ‘Star Trek’ is Over. What Next?” →

A ‘Republican Star Trek Fan’ Makes About as Much Sense as a Tribble Brain Surgeon

On By Mark PerigardIn TVLeave a comment
Uhura and her little Tribble friend.

It was inevitable that MAGA would come for “Star Trek.”

They’ve spent years fucking up “Star Wars” fandom, warring with creators and driving actors off social media with their sexist and racist attacks.

Now there’s a new bit of clickbait making the rounds, claiming, with zero evidence, that most “Star Trek” fans are Republican and the franchise needs to embrace that.

Set phasers on stupid.

Continue reading “A ‘Republican Star Trek Fan’ Makes About as Much Sense as a Tribble Brain Surgeon” →

ABC’s ‘9-1-1’ Shocks Fans with the Best Possible Twist

On By Mark PerigardIn TVLeave a comment

Characters on long-running prime-time dramas rarely grow emotionally.

From the first episode to the last, they stand as the same.

Olivia Benson is still the depressed detective apprehending perps on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Dr. Meredith Grey remains the same passionate life-saver that she was in the first season of “Grey’s Anatomy” as she is now in the 43rd season.

It’s part of the appeal of genre TV, what marks them as comfort food.

But the 100th episode of the first-responder show “9-1-1” earlier this month stunned viewers as it pulled on a string lingering for approximately five seasons, give or take, as firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) was kissed by a man.

Continue reading “ABC’s ‘9-1-1’ Shocks Fans with the Best Possible Twist” →