Appointment Television: Recent Episodes
Appointment Television
Appointment Television is a podcast about the TV you want to make time for. Every Thursday Margaret, Kathryn, and Andrew will revisit old shows, discover new ones, and debate everything from highbrow dramas to episodes of The Bachelor.
This finale stretch of My Lady Jane episodes—and this is the series finale, since once again we have canceled a show before its time—is sometimes more somber than the first half of the season was, and the show's untimely cancellation means there are a lot of pointless loose plot threads whipping around. We are nevertheless grateful to this bizarre show for trying something new.
In this episode of our goofy little podcast, we discuss episodes 4-5 of the goofy little show, My Lady Jane. Along the way, we discuss the perils of omnivorous eating in an Ethian society, references to classic cinema, and-- most important of all-- the role galluping does play in the Presidential Fitness Test and the role it might play in real presidential politics. Next week, we'll be discussing episodes 6-8. so gallup through the remainder of this show accordingly.
We're back!! We recorded this at some point in the past, so during this conversation, we did not yet know that our curse has once again been visited upon us! But we are ready to talk about velvet doublets. And also Anna Chancellor.
We're back! Again!
Something a little different this time: a miniseries focused on Amazon Prime's My Lady Jane, a bizarre historical-drama-meets-Animorphs show that was too strange for this post-peak-TV moment. It hadn't been canceled when we started recording these, but listeners, believe us when we say it had been canceled by the time we finished.
We also talk some about what we've been watching since last we met.
WEEK 1: Episode 1
WEEK 2: Episodes 2-3
WEEK 3: Episodes 4-5
WEEK 4: Episodes 6-8
You know how sometimes you get a text or an email, and you say you’ll get around to it later, and you totally MEAN to get around to it later, and you even know that the person on the other end of the message KNOWS that you’ll get to it when you get to it, but then suddenly literal MONTHS have passed and it seems like it would be weirder to reply to the message than it would be to continue letting it sit in this liminal unanswered state?
Anyway, here’s our last good one/bad one of, uh, fall 2023, about The Curse and Lawmen: Bass Reeves. We recorded this months ago. I dunno man, let's all just try to keep it light.
In this week's episode, the gang is all here and we're discussing Margaret's Good One/Bad One Picks: The Buccaneers (good, theoretically) and The Irrational (bad, verily). In the episode, we mention this sweater:
And also, somehow, against all odds, Mpreg Clippy, which I have linked in case any of you are self-loathing enough to wish to pollute your brain with his visage. We will be back NEXT WEEK to discuss Kathryn's GOBO: The Curse (good) and Lawmen: Bass Reeves (bad). We hope you come back despite mpreg Clippy, but understand if that was simply a bridge too far.
Listener beware, you're in for a scare! This week we watch a horrifying scream-filled nightmare of a television episode, where characters toy with forces beyond their comprehension and exhume corpses that would best be left alone. We are, of course, referring to the Frasier reboot. We also watch the first episode of the new Goosebumps show, which is fine.
We're back again! This time with a "Fall 2023" edition of Good One Bad One, which we started recording pretty late in the season and have finally gotten around to releasing even later. (November hit hard this year, listener.)
We've got a great lineup for you this season! Presenting the Good Ones:
Apple TV+'s The Buccaneers Hulu's Goosebumps Showtime's The Curse
And, of course, our formidable Bad Ones:
Paramount+'s Frasier reboot NBC's The Irrational Paramount+'s Lawmen: Bass Reeves
In which we finish our miniseries on Citadel and attempt to wrestle with what, exactly, we have brought upon ourselves.
Is watching this show not unlike descending into pure mindless sensation? Like a sensory deprivation tank, but as a TV show? Also why on earth does the Priyanka Chopra-Jonas character make these choices?! They're such bad choices!
Extra Hot Great co-host and TV critic extraordinaire Tara Ariano parachutes into our Citadel series this week, to help us break down exactly what is going on in all these flashback sequences where characters look and act exactly the same way they do in the "present day." This episode moves the season's main story forward by roughly 37 seconds.
It's so hard to remember any individual thing that happens in an episode of Citadel that I'm not sure how we keep sitting down and having a conversation about it, but our journey continues, flying forward with the inevitability of a super-spy on ski-boots.
We gently encouraged you to tell us whether you wanted us to watch more of Citadel, and you gently encouraged us back, so here we are with another episode about this dumb, dumb show where nothing is as it seems but in a super predictable kind of way.
We'll watch all six episodes of Citadel season 1 on Amazon, one at a time, posting on Thursdays(ish).
We saved the best and the worst for last this year! Mrs. Davis is a little zeitgeisty and a little head-fake-y and a lot of fun, while Citadel kind of wants to be all of those things and isn't any of them? Also if three or four dozen of you tweet at or email us I guess we'll fuck around and watch the entire first season of Citadel, don't disappoint us!
In this week's (comically belated) episode, we're tackling Kathryn's Spring 2023 GOBO picks, the shoulder devil and should angel of the Mom TV genre: The Diplomat (good, currently streaming on Netflix) and The Last Thing He Told Me (preposterous, not in a fun way, currently streaming on Apple TV+). In addition, we take some time off from discussing wood turning, houseboats, and even-weirder-than-Sweeney-Todd Stephen Sondheim musicals to discuss the current writer's strike in Hollywood and what's driving writers' discontent. Listen and enjoy and pretend this came out on Thursday like it was supposed to!
Daisy May Cooper's Am I Being Unreasonable is fascinating and strange and maybe (probably) doesn't work? Particularly because we all get into an argument about who we're supposed to be sympathizing with and why! But one thing's for DANG sure, and it's that Am I Being Unreasonable is a more interesting and successful show than Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies!
We're back gang!! This time we pick through the spring 2023 TV season to find shows to hang our hopes and our anti-hopes on. Next week! Prepare to watch Am I Being Unreasonable on Hulu and (ugh) Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies on Paramount+.
It is our final GOBO of this run, in which we discuss NBC's Quantum Leap and ABC's Alaska Daily. We promise to send you out on much skepticism about the wisdom of building a new Quantum Leap machine, and also a few thoughts on The State of Journalism.
Star Wars TV shows need to learn how to do episodes. So Help Me Todd is, so help us, not our worst-ever watch, even though it's very goofy and stupid. Classic bad one!!
Hello poppets! You're in for a treat with this one, posting up juuuust in time for everyones' commute home from work. We gather together to discuss Margaret's GO and BO: Reboot (GO) and The Vampire Academy (BO) and the vast majority of the episode is us trying in vain to figure out the vampire rules of a poorly written show to which we may or may not have paid much attention. Margaret gets sent to horny jail by minute 18.
Have you heard? People love giant fantasy series! They really do. Or at least, they definitely WATCH giant fantasy series, and whether or not they love them is maybe beside the point? In any event, we're doing a free space Good One / Bad One episode to discuss both House of the Dragonand The Rings of Power, which are your two choices for overstuffed fantasy extravaganzas this fall. No one gets mad about anything.
Have you heard? People love giant fantasy series! They really do. Or at least, they definitely WATCH giant fantasy series, and whether or not they love them is maybe beside the point? In any event, we're doing a free space Good One / Bad One episode to discuss both House of the Dragonand The Rings of Power, which are your two choices for overstuffed fantasy extravaganzas this fall. No one gets mad about anything.
Ah, the promise of a new TV season. Maybe one of the premieres will be one of your new favorites! Maybe you'll watch something so bad that you can make yourself mad years later just by thinking about it. The world is alight with possibilities!
We're back for a FIVE-episode fall engagement! This week we'll announce our picks, and next week we're going to do an obligatory Oops! All Fantasy episode about the House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings shows.
Ah, the promise of a new TV season. Maybe one of the premieres will be one of your new favorites! Maybe you'll watch something so bad that you can make yourself mad years later just by thinking about it. The world is alight with possibilities!
We're back for a FIVE-episode fall engagement! This week we'll announce our picks, and next week we're going to do an obligatory Oops! All Fantasy episode about the House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings shows.
We wrap up this season's round of Good One/Bad One with one entirely predictable bad one (Amazon's Lovestruck High) and one pleasantly surprising good one (Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds). See you in the fall!
This is, fundamentally, an episode about life's most existential questions. Some of those questions are fairly simple: what is good TV? How many shows about the same true crime murder is too many shows?
Some of those questions are much more complicated, like "if a time traveler poops in the woods and Steven Moffat is the showrunner and he changes the rules of how the story works so that detached parts of the time traveler's body follow him around through time and space ... what are the implications for Thanksgiving?"
This week, Margaret reopens her Queer TV Quorner to discuss OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH and then inflicts THE COURTSHIP upon Andrew and Kathryn. Its vastly superior predecessor Regency House Party is also discussed.
Did you miss us? Whether you did or not, we’re back again with our spring 2022 edition of Good One/Bad One, along with some notes about what we’ve been watching while we’ve been gone.
GOOD ONES:
Our Flag Means Death: https://play.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYf3LzwJV98JifQEAAAAO
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-strange-new-worlds/
Candy: https://www.hulu.com/series/candy-2ce80ed9-7ab6-44de-8434-f7dadb6ec11b
BAD ONES:
The Courtship: https://www.usanetwork.com/the-courtship
Lovestruck High: https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/press-release/lindsay-lohan-unveiled-as-the-official-voiceover-o
The Time Traveler’s Wife: https://www.hbo.com/the-time-travelers-wife
You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
SHOW NOTES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8
This week we watched the unredeemable mess that is Netflix’s Father Christmas Is Back, starring Frasier from the show Frasier. You’ll miss us when we’re gone.
In this week's episode, we take our final dive into the Ask Box while it's still Appointment Television's ask box. Himbos, endings, and what we would do with nigh unlimited funds are all discussed, among other things. And Margaret barely even cries, it's really impressive how brave she is.
It's the final SYMBOL [final countdown riff goes here].
It's got everything - it's got death! It's got pyramids! It's got degrees, but not celsius or fahrenheit degrees, some OTHER degrees! It's got resonance, and kissing (terrible kissing), and oh yes - it's got symbols.
Andrew has watched Amazon's Wheel of Time adaptation, because you don't read a 14-book fantasy series and notwatch the TV adaptation. Then, the three of us are whisked back to the magical world of Dan Brown, where everyone is always in on the scheme and all the evil masterminds are named "Zachary."
On this week's show, two reoccurring segments: the first return of "We Were Wrong About-- OR WERE WE?" (subject this time: Apple TV PLUS) and the final iteration of The Old Type about, inevitably, I Love Lucy. We discuss the episode "Lucy Does a Commercial" (which we all watched together) and then in turn the episodes "Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her," "Job Switching," and "Lucy Meets Orson Welles." And speaking of our man Orson, here is the wine commercial outtakes reel of which we speak in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvxwf1jxdaM. Trust me, you WILL want to watch it. Love, The Podcast.
In this episode of ATV, Robert Langdon visits a quarry, and that is how we know that this show was our destiny! Also featuring: bad arm casts, Dell desktops, pyramid tops, masonic squares, CIA psychics, and some Netflix metrics reporting!
On today's episode: Andrew and Kathryn spoil one particular scene of the new season of Succession for Margaret (terminally behind on all television) in a segment Andrew's eloquently dubbed "Jesus CHRIST, Kendall Roy," resulting in what we must assume is a record number of shell-shocked "oh BOY"s for any single episode of the podcast. Then we introduce a new retrospective segment: "We Were Wrong About-- OR WERE WE?", wherein we revisit opinions of old and see if any of our minds have changed since they were initially formed. Our first topic for reexamination? Well, it's only our least-popular opinion ever: Nailed It, the show only we appeared to dislike. WERE we wrong about it? Only by listening to the show can you find out.
This week we continue our final TV Book Club selection, carefully studying and then improbably deciphering the ancient secrets of episodes 2 and 3 of Peacock's Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.
This week's episode is mostly a conversation about some important podcast business things. We love you all so much, and we hope you'll forgive us for all the many thoughts and feelings and also some truly bad pretend podcast titles that are all stuffed in here. We expect to hear from many of you lovely weirdos in the tumblr box, and we will treasure each and every one of those messages except for obviously the ones that are mean or gross. <3
On today's episode, we examine the last of our Fall 2021 Good One-Bad One pairs: Foundation, on Apple TV+, which is a perfectly acceptable good one, and La Brea, on NBC, which proved much more fun to chat about than it was to watch (please don't watch it). Join us as we answer the big questions: WHO at NBC is in the pocket of big tar pits?
If you'd like to hear Andrew talk about the book version of Foundation on his other podcast, the link is right here: https://overduepodcast.com/episodes/2015/3/9/episode-103-foundation
If you subscribed to Paramount+ (née CBS All Access) for one month, what would you watch? Our answer to this question is complicated by the fact that Paramount+ actually has a back catalogue, but the short version is that you should start with Evil and work your way out from there.
It's the second installment of 2021's fall Good One / Bad One, this time discussing the new FOX drama The Big Leap, and Apple TV+'s news/comedy/journalism/the fact that we don't know what to call it is part of the problem here/discussion show, The Problem With Jon Stewart. In this episode, Margaret has many problems with Stewart, Kathryn and Andrew have fewer problems, and everybody agrees that there are zero problems with Scott Foley.
In today's late-because-of-water-heater-chaos episode, we discuss three key things:
- The origin of the name Peaky Blinders (in which Margaret and Andrew each invent new terms)
- The pilot of Hulu's new adaptation of Y: The Last Man (which Margaret likens to this extremely timely and relevant cultural property)
- And then the gonzo excellence of Peacock's adaptation of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
This year's crop of fall shows is small but potent. Look forward to watching each of these good and/or bad shows with us over the next few weeks. This is an episode that MOST of us came prepared for. SHOW NOTES: Y: The Last Man on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/y-the-last-man-9fb2d79b-1280-48be-b185-f989b9c9519a Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/dan-browns-the-lost-symbol Foundation on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/foundation/umc.cmc.5983fipzqbicvrve6jdfep4x3 La Brea on NBC: https://www.nbc.com/la-brea The Big Leap on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-big-leap-f6dc6023-2033-491e-a336-b9920735fb26 The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-problem-with-jon-stewart/umc.cmc.4fcexvzqezr25p9weks6sxpob
Although Margaret could not be with us for this episode, when it was time to check in with season two of Ted Lasso we knew that we'd be in capable hands with our friends Christina Tucker and Sophie Brookover. They join us this week for a conversation about the ups and downs of both Ted Lasso and Ted Lasso discourse, and they have a couple recommendations for what to watch. We cover such topics as: Sam! Whether this show has conflict! The experience of watching serial television! And, alarmingly, we attempt to discuss sports.
We're back, glory be! On this week's episode we're discussing a shocking revelation in the world of children's TV programming, the debatable delights of Doc McStuffins, and the absolutely established joys of Hulu's new original series Only Murders in the Building (with its gloriously Ephronian setting).
There is also a second segment to this episode, in which Andrew, Margaret and Kathryn all pitch imaginary TV shows about good journalism, and as per usual Margaret has an eerie number of truly fantastic TV ideas. But the main event here is that a patron forced Andrew to watch a truly awful TV show called Do No Harm aka Dr Facehands, and it was magnificent.
Andrew and Margaret return to the skeptical and often controversial Kathrynth Circuit Court for a TV versus TV debate: what duo has the most TV chemistry? Kathryn makes a decision sure to infuriate truly everyone; please know that your hate mail will be received calmly and disregarded quickly.
They then turn to a discussion of how chemistry works on TV, who has it and who does not. Many things are agreed upon, except for Kathryn's ruling.
With five weeks of Ted Lasso remaining and no new Schmigadoon to watch, we suspect many of you might be looking for some new way to make the most of your Apple TV+ subscription. So, for our first Summer Hiatus Rerun, we're sharing the interview we did with Dickinson creator Alena Smith in January, 2020. Consider this our pitch for letting a little corseted chaos into your life.
We take a brief detour into the wacky world of Robert and Michele King to talk about how Evil Season 2 is going, then we do some fantasy casting of Broadway actors in Kings' projects before wrapping up our Feel Good TV Book Club.
Also: we're taking a break! We'll be posting some reruns over the next few weeks and we'll see you all in September.
EVIL on Paramount+: https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/evil/
Feel Good on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80241545
This is episode two of our Feel Good book club, where we discuss episodes 3 and 4 of season one. Serious topics are considered, including: does George still suck as much, what is Mae's stand-up actually like, and also how is Lisa Kudrow this good at her job?
But before we get there, we bring up a topic that requires careful, detailed thought. Which one of us would suck the least if we were contestants on Survivor?
On this week's episode, we introduce a new segment (name TBD) where we tell you how to get the most out of one month with any minor league streaming service. In honor of Ted Lasso's season 2 premiere last Friday (a glorious event to which we devote some time and attention), we've focus our first session on Apple TV+. Come for the earnest advice, but stay for the absolutely harrowing fuck-marry-kill the discussion occasions.
On this week's episode we begin our TV Book Club on Netflix's Feel Good, a show where extremely charming queer people make exceptionally poor decisions, but first: we answer some questions from our Tumblr ask box. Margaret goes long on the subject of library school, we all discuss the scam of terminal master degree programs (recently documented more thoroughly by Anne Helen Petersen), and then-- the true highlight-- we each share an embarrassing story we've not previously told on the podcast.
RIP to The Bold Gripe, a segment we loved briefly and too well. You'll never guess what those goofy media types are up to in the finale! After we fully dunk on that whole situation we turn to the new HBO series The White Lotus, a show about rich people at a fancy resort but most importantly: a show with Jennifer Coolidge in it.
On this week's episode of Appointment TB, we present unto you: CHAOS. Our exceptionally loose agenda is Andrew discusses Patreon Supporter Gerald's $7 pick, the late and sometimes lamented GCB and Margaret invites viewers to return to her Queer TV Qorner by mentioning some exclusively gay content in Marvel's Loki and finding a very particular queer framing for HBOMax's Starstruck. But in actual fact, you'll find our discussion a lot weirder and more wide-ranging than this brief summary can communicate, including the explicit nonsense that NPR specifically paid someone to remove from Margaret's discussion of Loki last week.
You are not going to believe what happened on The Bold Type. It's the kind of thing you can see coming in retrospect, and yet it is so fully implausible that our minds are truly blown by it. Then we chat about Everything's Gonna Be Okay, a show we continue to love so, so much.
On this week’s episode, we celebrate reaching 300 episodes by talking about a bunch of other shows that have also reached 300 episodes! We also talk about Supernatural for what feels like an eternity; we’re not apologizing for it but we do think you should be aware of it going in.
SHOW NOTES
The Simpsons on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/the-simpsons/3ZoBZ52QHb4x
Supernatural on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70143825
Grey’s Anatomy on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/greys-anatomy-bfd6ba83-5fff-46f8-abae-76f1796c1c8e
In this week's episode Andrew catches us up on this season of The Bold Type (in what we hope will be a continuing segment) and we discuss episodes 5, 6, and 7 of Everything's Going to Be Okay, with which we are all falling ever more deeply in love. Along the way we touch briefly upon the issue of shows that exist in the same fictional universe, Andrew's secret superpower, and tease what's coming up in our Very Special 300th Episode.
This week's episode - Moon Show! (Technically the name of this show is For All Mankind on Apple TV+ but we're no dummies, we know the best name for it is Moon Show). Girls5Eva! Facts about Playboy bunnies in space! Also featuring: a brief but intense digression about Pringles!
Everyone is charmed by episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (hereafter EGBO), and Kathryn recommends some shows to people for the first time in a while.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/everythings-gonna-be-okay-f30e3e01-ccb4-46c3-8802-5117f8dc2f13
In today's episode, we mix it up with MASH, from its less-than-great actual pilot to the S4 premiere that Margaret's friends insist is the true* pilot, with a special detour to discuss the particularly strange journey to creating Trapper John, M.D.
Most of this episode is a discussion of the lovely but slightly uneasy Peacock original show Rutherford Falls. It's a readily lovable show but also the thing at the very center of its DNA is centuries of genocide - a tricky, tricky tone to land, and the show mostly does it!
At the beginning of the episode, though, we do a little chatting about TV starting to come back this summer. Hooray, television! But there's a very important PSA we need to note: in this episode Kathryn suggests that it's possible the Netflix show Halston might be good. This episode was recorded before she saw that series. Halston is not good. We regret the misleading implication.
In today's episode: due to overwhelming demand from either many of you or (more likely) one of you many, many times, we're getting Kathryn's assessment on HBO's newest Murdur Durdur show, otherwise known as Mare of Easttown. And then we commence with installment #1 of our newest TV Book Club on Freeform's dramedy Everything is Gonna Be Okay, the second season of which has recently begun, prompting a profile of Josh Thomas to run in The New Yorker, which was subsequently turned into high-quality audio content with help of Margaret, but which she did not leverage into a close friendship with Josh Thomas--- YET.
The short segment this week is a patreon recommendation for cozy mysteries! But the long segment is a discussion of the Australian preschool show Bluey. Spoiler: Bluey is amazing.
SHOW NOTES
- A Bluey piece in the Australian outlet The Saturday Paper - https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/culture/television/2020/04/11/bluey-creator-joe-brumms-dog-days/15865272009678
We're starting your week off with some extra #content in the form of SEINFELD XXX, a show about a show about nothing! Craig and Chris talk about every episode of Seinfeld on the 30th anniversary of its original air date; in this episode, they discuss season 2 episode 6, The Statue. Find out more at seinfeld.rocks or @SeinfeldXXX!
It’s time for the 30th anniversary of the sixth episode of Seinfeld’s second season!
The bizarre boyfriend of Elaine’s bizarre friend/client cleans Jerry’s apartment, but a coveted statue has gone missing! George orchestrates a sting operation. Jerry and Elaine can’t believe what’s going on. Kramer impersonates a police detective.
And it’s time to ask: what’s the deal with New Kramer and thieves?
Carrying over from our previous Muppet Show discussion, this week we start by discussing: What era-appropriate guests did the classic Muppet Show miss? We then finish our TV Book Club discussion of the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso (specifically episodes 8, 9, and 10). Do note that this episode was recorded before the trailer for season 2 dropped; it starts on July 23!
SHOW NOTES:
Muppet Show on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/the-muppet-show/Rgks70YwIkSw
Ted Lasso on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy
Ted Lasso S2 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auxeLrtk7tk
In this week's episode we:
- Learn the differences between Christina, Christine, Cristin, and Kirsten
- Discuss old gay news and whether the NLRB can protect Andrew from Bachelor exposure
- Establish that Q puts the Q in LBTQIA+
- Detail the manner in which many docuseries have huge "meetings that could have been an email" energy, but not THIS one
- And finally, chat over the new HBO Max original series Made for Love and the essential value of stifling your internal Edward Snowden.
If you could vacation in an as-seen-on-TV locale, where would you go? This is the vital question we begin with on this week’s show, before diving into episodes 5, 6, and 7 of the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.
SHOW NOTES
Ted Lasso on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy
Wocka wocka it's The Muppet Show! After a rousing discussion of which Muppets we most strongly identify with, we talk about the glorious original Muppet Show. This includes questions such as: what modern day celebrity do we wish were on the 70s Muppet Show? Why is Gonzo like that? And, is Scooter's whole deal really nepotism?
Hello, friends! Today's episode touches briefly on the state of children's television presently (and ergo features some exceptionally cute anecdotes about Kathryn's children) and then moves on to discuss episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Ted Lasso. Whomst does Andrew liken to a "more fuckable Anton Ego"? You'll have to listen to find out.
This week we allow Kathryn some space to defend her single-handed cancelation of Chris Harrison, the only man on the face of the earth who is qualified to ask reality show contestants questions like "how are you feeling." Then we clarify some jokes we made about watching shows with subtitles and some other mailbag stuff. Ah, good ol' mailbag.
SHOW NOTES
Kathryn on The Bachelor and race: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-bachelor-season-25-racism-offscreen-editing-production.html
In today's episode, we're kicking off (like one would in UNAMERICAN FOOTBALL) our Ted Lasso TV Book Club by discussing its pilot, which improbably succeeds in transforming an abrasively amusing series of NBC sports commercials into an incapacitatingly sweet and charming sitcom. This is the rare show where Margaret has actually watched ahead of our assigned reading so (1) you know it's good and (2) be prepared for her to confuse which things happened in which episodes!
For our Ted Lasso sensitive listener: this one is pretty much all Lasso (although we don't really dig into the show until about three minutes in), but future iterations will have more non-Lasso content for you.
It was time to do a check-in with all the stuff we've been watching in the great quarantine TV slow-down. Margaret, to absolutely no one's surprise, has refused to watch the ending of a show and instead is just gonna circle back around to the beginning!
We spend most of this week's episode talking about WandaVision, though. Not in a spoilery sense! We do not reveal anything about the major events of the show. But we do talk about the recent trend toward buzzy weekly release shows on big streaming platforms, and why we think they've gotten popular lately.
This week's installment of The Old Type is brought to you by Taxi, yet another 70s-era sitcom that existed just off of our pop cultural maps. Of all the old sitcoms we've watched so far, this is probably the one that is still the funniest? Like funniest in an intentional way, not how-did-the-Gilligan's-Island-castaways-get-a-pie-tin sort of way.
SHOW NOTES:
Taxi (CBS): https://www.cbs.com/shows/taxi/episodes/
On this week's episode, we discuss: the persistent whiteness of the cozy mystery genre, the more diverse potential presented by noir, series HBO foolishly is not making, what TV moment from 2020 is still living-- rent free-- in all of our heads, whose butt should receive Rush Limbaugh's repossessed Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Netflix's new reality TV Show Buried by the Bernards. All told, I'd say it's a pretty darn good time.
It's not fair! It really is not fair. But this is the most Teenage Bounty Hunters we're going to get, so we're just holding this celebration of its life and getting very, very mad about it.
Holy podcast! This week on The Old Type, we all revisit the old 60s Batman show featuring Adam West, Burt Ward, and a smorgasbord of tights. This is a long episode for us but I think you'll agree that Batman is worth it.
On this week, hear the good tidings of what your PBS Passport membership could entitle you to this week, learn of their past (partially forgiven) perfidy, and hear our grief over the premature cancellation of Teenage Bounty Hunters grow still more keen as our love for the show gains abiding depth.
Wow Teenage Bounty Hunters is a great show, right?! Dang. In this episode we talk about episodes 2-4, but we also answer a few questions from the ol' ask box, and we go on a long-ish mid-episode detour about the first time we found ourselves quite drunk at a college party. What a fun time.
This week we talk about the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, both politically and as TV spectacle. No show notes this week, we have a lot going on, ok???
As the title implies, this week is the first part of our TV Book Club series about the Netflix one-season wonder that is Teenage Bounty Hunters.
TEENAGE BOUNTY HUNTERS ON NETFLIX: https://www.netflix.com/title/80244296
You guessed it, folks: we're talking about the new Netflix series Bridgerton this week! There are bosoms! They are heaving! There are dicks! They are pumping! There is more specific information about the nuts and bolts of pumping and nutting than you might anticipate! (About which Kathryn recently conducted a fascinating interview.) And, to top it all off, there is also special guest Christina Tucker, AKA our Lady Danbury Thirst Correspondent. In addition to Bridgerton, we are also discussing movie directors being whiny little babies about all their movies being simultaneously released to HBOMax and theaters. ENJOY! And, for next week, you'll want to watch episode one of Teenage Bounty Hunters, our newest TV Book Club pick.
We're taking a week off! Pasted below are the original show notes for our 2017 episode about Netflix's A Christmas Prince.
—
It’s holiday time, so we dedicate the entire episode to a close reading of one of Netflix’s forays into the wide world of dedicated Christmas programming: the Hallmark Christmas-style movie A Christmas Prince. Strap in for lying! Mothra! Negging! Jellied meats! Birther scandals! Romance! Tokenism! Constitutional crises! And so much more!
SHOW NOTES:
- Techies Still Think They’re Good Guys. They’re Not. https://www.wired.com/story/the-other-tech-bubble/
- Netflix’s Creepy Tweet. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/netflix-christmas-prince-tweet-privacy-creepy-twitter-viewing-habits-2017-a8105351.html
- ION’s A Christmas Cruise: https://iontelevision.com/holiday-movie/a-christmas-cruise
- Hallmark Channel as a balm for 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/we-cant-take-any-more-of-2017-so-weve-turned-to-the-hallmark-channel-in-desperation/2017/12/07/1ad3dab6-d6ca-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html?utm_term=.c42173792a12
- Spotify Reveals Its Users Habits in an Ad Campaign. https://www.boredpanda.com/spotify-reveals-its-users-most-embarrassing-listening-habits-on-giant-billboards/
Sadly they stopped making new Christmas Prince movies (BOO!) so we are celebrating the holidays with an installment of The Old Type. This time we're watching several Christmas episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, a '70s sitcom that led Andrew and Margaret to ask Kathryn "uh why are we watching this?"
This week, we're checking in with how TV is handling its uncomfortable task of depicting a pandemic that requires hot actors to cover 1/2 of their face. Spoiler: they aren't doing great! We start with a long, harrowing, collective look at the opening episode of Bull and its terrifying demon CGI baby and then continue on to touch upon: Black-ish, Super Store, The Good Doctor, and a handful of other programs. Obviously, Kathryn wrote about all of this really brilliantly. She also wrote astutely about the sexual harassment Eliza Dushku experienced on the set of Bull, a subject we touched upon at the beginning of the show.
All three of us definitely showed up this week having seen every minute of both of the shows we’re discussing—Showtime’s intriguing The Good Lord Bird, and HBO’s weird-ass mystery box drama The Third Day.
SHOW NOTES
The Good Lord Bird: https://www.sho.com/the-good-lord-bird
The Third Day: https://www.hbo.com/the-third-day
Let's check in with what's happening on network TV! Specifically, let's check in with unscripted network TV: the reboot of Supermarket Sweep and this high-drama season of The Bachelorette. We've asked our beloved games corresponded Craig Getting to return so he can weigh in on the Sweep update; in a shocking turn of events, everyone gets very animated.
In this episode, we discuss Andrew’s Good One/Bad One pairing: AMC’s Soulmates, which we all liked a little bit more than we were expecting and The Comey Rule, which was even worse than we could possibly have imagined. Along the way we discuss Sarah Snook and her acting partner, her butt, whether Andrew and Kathryn would soulmate test despite being married, whether Margaret is doing something remarkably unprofessional around minute 5, the propensity in American culture to confuse a man being tall with a man being possessed of character, just what can render one nostalgic for The Newsroom, and what Aaron Sorkin needs in order to climax sexually. IT’S A REAL ONE, Y’ALL! Enjoy!
For our belated good one/bad one episode week, we pull off what is known in podcasting circles as the Queen’s gambit—by watching the show The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix and then talking about it! We also watched Ratched, which is obviously the bad one.
SHOW NOTES:
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT: https://www.netflix.com/title/80234304
RATCHED: https://www.netflix.com/title/80213445
Margaret definitely does not cry at all in this discussion of the conclusion of Never Have I Ever, a show that's really about grief and fathers who die and the kind of ripple effect that has for every member of the family. Nope! Zero crying. Also Kathryn definitely remembered to select the correct microphone, and that's why her audio sounds exactly as good as it always does.
On this week’s episode, we introduce an important concept from Our Last Tapes: The Old Type, the official name for our periodic episodes where we open the creaky haunted vault of Ancient Television and bring forth a mummified TV corpse to examine. THIS WEEK, in honor of the SPOOKY TIMES in which we all live, we discuss The Addams Family (snap snap). Learn: what Kathryn’s 6-year-old thinks of it, which joke of Andrew’s makes Margaret bark with laughter while also saying “That’s so dumb”, and what piece of taxidermy Margaret most wishes she could have for herself. If you would like to sample some of the episodes discussed, they can be found on MGM’s YouTube page and on one of those largely made-up streaming platforms that’s called like Luna Network-- search on your Roku, it will know what I’m talking about. And, last but not least, please check out what the Addams family’s living room looked like in color or the weird musical spoof on said family that Margaret listened to frequently as a child (start at 3:58).
We begin this episode by taking the opportunity to respond to one more item from the mailbag, a very thoughtful email that expands on some of our discussion from our previous conversation about the cultural context of Never Have I Ever (and notably, how ill-equipped we are to see some of it!) Then we jump back into the show, with our discussion of episodes 5, 6, and 7.
This week's episode begins with a funeral, but like, the kind of funeral where no one is surprised or sad? Then we talk about this year's off-feeling season of Bake-Off, Kathryn's latest weird dick show, and a bushel of listener questions.
SHOW NOTES:
RIP in peace Quibi: https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/21/21527197/quibi-streaming-service-mobile-shutting-down-end-katzenberg
GBBO on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80063224
John Explains Everything: https://www.hbo.com/how-to-with-john-wilson
In this lightly frankensteined episode, we discuss both a piece critical of Never Have I Ever (in a segment recorded last week), episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Never Have I Ever, and the myriad glories contained in what shall from here on out be known as The Lost Tapes (recorded just last night). And, as a bonus, we have a snippet of a song from a band to which Andrew so kindly introduced us last night.
Thanks to a change in our recording setup last week, the episode we intended to release today (our next TV Book Club installment on episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Never Have I Ever) does not exist. INSTEAD, we are bringing you a rerun of a Golden Oldie: the team recommends their favorite shows for watching with only 80% attention and then, then. Then we dedicate ourselves to dunking on a terrible procedural you probably forgot existed: Deception, where the world's top magician uses his sophisticated understanding of SLEIGHT OF HAND to solve major crimes that inexplicably demand said expertise. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane and will be back with our regularly scheduled episodes next week.
SHOW NOTES:
Sports Night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165961/
Justified: http://www.fxtv.com.au/justified
Elementary: https://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/
Pitch: https://www.fox.com/pitch/
Timeless: https://www.nbc.com/timeless?nbc=1
New Girl: https://www.fox.com/new-girl/
Terriers: https://tv.avclub.com/terriers-perfect-one-season-run-defied-description-ma-1798246162
Deception: http://abc.go.com/shows/deception
The quarantine Emmys were ... good?? We are as shocked as the next person, but we spend most of this episode discussing what made the socially distanced pandemic awards version of the Emmys so much more compelling than the regular version. Afterwards, we turn to a brief conversation about the role of seasonality in TV plotting, which is mostly an excuse for Margaret to mourn about the cancellation of Stumptown. Stumptown! Why were you taken from us!
We answer some questions from our vaunted Tumblr ask box, which Margaret swears she won’t get upset about but then she totally does. It leads to a discussion of how important objectivity is to reviews and whether it exists at all (hint: it isn’t and it doesn’t). Then, we talk about the first episode of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, a teen comedy that is definitely narrated by tennis legend John McEnroe.
SHOW NOTES:
Ask Us Questions On Tumblr, You Cowards: https://atvpodcast.com/ask
Never Have I Ever: https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190
John McEnroe Gets Mad, This Is Just One Of The Times When This Happens, Also When Are We Getting A Movie Where Matthew Rhys Plays John McEnroe, I’m Just Saying, No That Shia LeBeouf Movie Doesn’t Count: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c&t=4s
This week we have: sad dirgeses about two recently announced cancellations, bad one picks from the fall TV lineup in which we have the deepest confidence, good one picks about which we're.... like..... IDK.... maybe!!!??!?! about, more uncertain squeaky uptalk than you can shake a stick at, and a full minute of Margaret explaining a driving game called cows that anyone other than Margaret would surely have trimmed out of the episode, but it's too late for you hos as neither responsible host was here to intervene. Links of pertinence:
- Venture Bros. cancellation
- High Fidelity's cancellation, Alison Herman's thoughtful observations on the shortening lifespans of streaming TV shows, and the creators' interview about where they intended to take Season 2.
- Kathryn's Bad One
- Margaret's Bad One
- Andrew's Bad One
- Margaret's Good One
- Andrew's ... goood one???????
- and Kathryn's Good.... one?
- And!! Our new TV Book Club: Netflix's Never Have I Ever, watch the pilot for next week!
And, last but never least, please enjoy John Brown's portrait from the National Portrait Gallery, one of Margaret's very favorite works of art.
Inspired by the absurd, impossible inescapability of 2020, we decide to take a trip to TV past. A fateful trip. A three hour tour, if you will. (Okay fine, this episode isn't quite that long.)
First we have a chat about our own personal histories with Nick at Nite, and then turn to the bizarre phenomenon of Gilligan's Island. At one point, the fact that the castaways are able to bake a pie renders Kathryn speechless for over a minute.
This week, we talk about the bizarre experience of watching a COVID-era awards show (in this case, the VMAs), and then we talk about the first episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country. It’s a horror show that is surprisingly tolerable for people who don’t normally like horror! And it’s an interesting way to deal with the fact that HP Lovecraft’s work is both foundational to the sci-fi genre AND written by a deeply racist dude.
SHOW NOTES:
Kathryn on the uncanny valley VMAs: https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/vmas-2020-took-place-nowhere.html
Lovecraft Country on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/lovecraft-country
On this week's episode we discuss CBS All Access's most recent addition to its Star Trek universe of shows, Lower Decks, which is different from the Bravo reality TV show BELOW Deck contrary to... one of your hosts' expectations-- bet you can't guess which!! HOWEVER, according to Kathryn, the two have more similarities than you might expect! THEN we branch off into an omnibus of Fall TV we're anticipating and at least one show Andrew would like to leave at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. In said omnibus, we discuss the following:
- Fargo, S4
- The Next Marajuana Millionaire
- The Undoing
- The Bachelorette, which has been subject to Some Shenanigans!!! this upcoming season
- The Crown, S4
- City So Real
- PEN15. S2
- Miss Scarlet and the Duke
- Star Trek: Discovery
- Leslie Jones's Supermarket Sweep (and our aspiration to be the first ever three person team on said show)
- The Bridgertons
It's a round robin of short topics this week, including Harley Quinn, why is Louis CK back, the joys of watching Perry Mason get fucked into the crevice between a bed and the wall, and whether Lovecraft Country is too scary for wimps.
Then, Andrew and Kathryn go head to head in the important debate of our time: are the title credits of Babylon Berlin actually a DVD menu screen?
Friend of the show Craig Getting joins us this week to explain what the deal is with televised sports in this time when, really, no one ought to be playing any kind of sports at all. Then, in anticipation of the Supermarket Sweep reboot, we talk about some of the episodes of the old show that went up on Netflix not that long ago.
SHOW NOTES:
This is just how sports audiences look now: https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/26/21339029/virtual-baseball-mlb-nba-fox-sports-coronavirus
Supermarket Sweep on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81289176
We're surprised too, but yes, apparently television is still doing the Emmy awards this year! Not even a global pandemic can keep Jimmy Kimmel from telling us about how important television is, before then making a few lame jokes and leaving.
Anyhow, in this episode we discuss our reaction to the 2020 Emmy nominations, but first we have a long chat about the state of television production five months into shutdown. Turns out the picture is pretty bright ... for New Zealand.
In today's episode, we discuss the last three episodes of Season One of Tuca & Bertie, a show we all love the name of which Margaret can even occasionally pronounce correctly. In the process, we also discuss:
- Margaret's improbable employment as a semi-professional pronunciation advisor
- Fauci/Verdon
- Mall stores we'd name after which we would name our children
- Future Bones Zone guest Josh Gondelman's great essay "An Ode to Speckle, a (Bird)Man for Our Times"
- And you can hear Margaret learn, in real time, what TCBY stands for
All told, a splendid episode anyone would enjoy.
This week, film and culture critic Cate Young (@battymamzelle) joins us for a discussion of The Bold Type's uneven 4th season, and why we keep watching it anyway. Then, we dial up Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club, just to remind ourselves what it was like six months ago when we could actually get childcare.
SHOW NOTES:
Cate Young on Twitter: https://twitter.com/battymamzelle
The Bold Type on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bold-type-45c40273-0742-4324-af23-db4a484b3af3
BSC on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81005407
More from Kathryn on BSC: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-baby-sitters-club-netflix-adaptation-review.html
We kick things off this week by talking about shows like Central Park and The Simpsons, which have announced a few significant casting changes in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Then it's Tuca and Bertie book club time! Guess what? This show still fucking rules.
Yes folks, that's right. As the title suggests, we tackle not one but TWO all-time ATV trash classics: Andrew watches the pilot of NBC's Smash (while Kathryn and Margaret lavishly reminisce about the fun they had watching it) and then we, as a team, discuss Netflix's new extremely dumb & incredibly fun show, Floor is Lava. Highlights: whose eyes are the deadest in all of Hollywood? What screen icon does Andrew describe as "that Susan Collins looking lady"? And, best of all, who would we cast on Celebrity Floor is Lava and how would they fare? PLUS: bonus dunking on Cancel of Dads. Pertinent links:
- Megan Hilty performing "The National Pastime" from SMASH
- Megan Hilty performing "They Just Keep Moving the Line" from SMASH
- No videos whatsoever of Katherine McPhee singing a single, solitary song from SMASH
- Andrew and beloved Overdummy Craig Getting's recommendations for how Floor is Lava can improve
- Vulture's interview with Floor is Lava creators wherein the making of the lava is detailed at length
- Where you should go to do your part to make sure that Steve Dowling gets his
This week, we continue our Tuca & Bertie TV Book Club with episodes 3, 4, and 5 of Season 1. In addition we discuss: the cancelled-before-its-time Sweet/Vicious at the behest of one of our $7-a-month Patreon supporters, and Andrew's incredible skill at coming up with perfect dumb podcast names.
In light of the surging Black Lives Matter movement, we discuss some of the major TV responses in the last few weeks, especially the cancelation of Cops and Live PD, and Bachelor's decision to finally cast a black male lead.
We also take a long walk through our mailbag, beginning with some really thoughtful critiques we received about the subject of cops on TV and our response to the Twilight Zone. Please note that eventually the mailbag gets less serious.
This week, we lighten things up a bit by watching the first two episode of Lisa Hanawalt's Netflix animated show, Tuca & Bertie.
SHOW NOTES:
Tuca & Bertie: https://www.netflix.com/title/80198137
On this week's episode, inspired by Kathryn's excellent essay on the subject, we are discussing POLICE ON TELEVISION and why, by and large, they are not doing great things for society. Along the way, we make some important stops at:
- Normalizing Injustice by Color of Change Hollywood
- Critics' Conversation: Is TV Afraid to Tackle Police Brutality or Just Unable to Do It Well?
- How police censorship shaped Hollywood, and how pop culture changed policing
- Opinion: Shut down all police movies and TV shows. Now.
- 46 Stops: The Driving Life and Death of Philando Castile from Code Switch
-
127, The Crime Machine, Part I -- Reply All
In lieu of one short topic this week, we each bring a short topic and then promise to only talk about our topic for 2 minutes each. Somehow, though, the first segment is 17 minutes long.
Then it's time for the end of the Twilight Zone book club! This time we joke a lot about pool players and the system in heaven where you have to show up as a ghost to constantly defend your titles.
hello hi yes hello guess what hi we finally did our last good one/bad one combo!!!!!! for the spring season!!!!! we put it off for so many weeks BUT THIS WEEK wasn't one of them, so here it is! OUR EPISODE! We talk about The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart (not worse than Cancel of Dads, but LONGER) and Run (ultimately not as good a one as we hoped by god, Merritt Weaver is so beautiful, so do we even care?). Join us to learn how chamber ensemble music camp is like The Bachelor, whether Margaret's gaydar is working, and how long Margaret will attempt to communicate non-verbally before recalling she is making a podcast and must instead articulate her thoughts.
The second season of What We Do in the Shadows is one of the precious few shows left that still has new pre-pandemic episodes rolling out every week, so we talk about how great it is. Then, it’s back to the Twilight Zone, to watch some all-time series high-watermarks (S03E08, S01E08, S05E03).
What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu): https://www.hulu.com/series/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-0b10c46a-12f0-4357-8a00-547057b49bac
Vulture’s 50 best Twilight Zone episodes: https://www.vulture.com/article/twilight-zone-best-episodes.html
Did you know there will still be some TV this summer? There will! Not very much, but the summer won't be a complete content desert, and we're going to run through a few of the things we're hoping will give us some welcome summer distractions.
We also talk about the Parks and Rec reunion episode. We were not big fans, alas, but we use it as a springboard to talk about what we think works about this kind of sad event TV and whether anyone really wants a Very Special Covid Episode. (We think probably not.)
This week we return with another mind-blowing visit to The Twilight Zone, with a special (coincidental) emphasis on stories where women are driven mad by happenstance. Also we have small complaints we just gotta get off our chests ok???
SHOW NOTES:
Stumptown: https://abc.com/shows/stumptown
The Last Dance: https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/2806434b-1deb-4c5c-aae0-04b1ab8eebf7/the-last-dance
The Bold Type: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bold-type-45c40273-0742-4324-af23-db4a484b3af3
Vulture’s list of The Twilight Zone episodes: https://www.vulture.com/article/twilight-zone-best-episodes.html
Hello, fellow quaranitine madness sufferers, and welcome to the latest ATV.
Is Margaret once again recording with the wrong mic this week? She sure is, and she blames Zoom. She's not sure what Zoom has to do with it, but she's still confident they're at fault.
We also talk about the new Who Wants to Be a Millionare? and the myriad ways in which it's the worst. We debate if any Late Night Jimmy other than Kimmel could have saved it. Margaret's mic? It's the still the wrong on this whole segment!
AND THEN we talk about Mrs. America! Margaret's mic remains bad but her ability to pronounce Schlafly and Abzug on her very first try is so impressive that maybe you'll stop noticing.
At the end of the episode, Andrew suggests that we might edit part of the show so that it flows more smoothly and Kathryn, bless her shining head, says "....we'll see."
You will see that we didn't, proving that once again, Kathryn is always right.
This week we roll out a new a new TV book club, the top 10 episodes of The Twilight Zone! We definitely told you about this book club in previous episodes, and we gave you plenty of warning this was coming on our social media feeds. If you're feeling at all gaslit about that, keep in mind that it's very thematically in keeping with a book club on The Twilight Zone.
Before we dig into our first Twilight Zone episode (season 4's "On Thursday We Leave For Home"), Kathryn shares some brief thoughts on Quibi.
This week we talk about the things we have been watching since we’ve been stuck in our houses with our televisions. And then, appropriately, we talk about the TLC reality show Dr. Pimple Popper. We also talk about Law & Order SVU a lot? Which is confusing to Andrew but clearly he's out of his element and should be forgiven for it.
SHOW NOTES:
Mrs. Maisel: https://www.amazon.com/Marvelous-Mrs-Maisel-Season/dp/B06VYH1GF7
Batman: The Animated Series: https://www.dcuniverse.com/videos/batman-the-animated-series/65/season-1
Evil: https://www.cbs.com/shows/evil/episodes/
The Bold Type: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bold-type-45c40273-0742-4324-af23-db4a484b3af3
Stumptown: https://www.hulu.com/series/stumptown-70cc8703-43db-4d87-96ae-146a4ed81d3f
Law & Order SVU: https://www.nbc.com/law-and-order-special-victims-unit/episodes
Dr. Pimple Popper: https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/dr-pimple-popper/
In solidarity with the many parents in our audience currently navigating the... joys... of having their children with them all the time, Margaret and Andrew handed the reigns over to Kathryn this week for Good One, Bad One Jr. We got to watch one good show that her 2-and-6-year old love and one bad show they love. We also took this as a chance to reflect on the shows of our youth, the wild origin story ascribed to the titular ghostwriter of the PBS show Ghostwriter, the myriad ways that both Muppet Babies and Ghostbusters misrepresented the more adult brands from which they were derived, why Rockapella appeared to be the only acapella group on Napster, and the two genders of childhood in the early 1990s: enormous calf-grazing baggy shorts and tiny bike shorts.
In our first Good One / Bad One segment of the spring, we bring you a relatively thoughtful conversation about David Simon's Plot Against America and then a very, very, very silly one about NBC's new series Council of Dads.
In today’s episode: first, we are joined by a special guest! Our pal Kamille Washington (AKA Kamillio) is tapping in again, this time to liberate Kathryn from the burden of watching Fox’s newest absurd reality TV show, Flirty Dancing. In addition to discussing this very dumb and very pure program, Andrew, Margaret, and Kamille design their own Frankenshows out of the discarded parts of reality TV shows past, and:
- Nearly end one dear friendship of many year's existence by means of a very bad (but also inspired???) joke
- Discuss how we would use an illegal knife barge
- Observe all the narrative theory you did NOT learn thanks to Kathryn’s absence
- Ponder what Jenna Dewan No Longer Tatum's hair smells like
- And, at the episode’s very end, hoist one's self on one's own petard by dragging a person who may have posted an episode of the show at 9 AM instead of 6 AM only to forget to post the very next day's show until 1 PM (!!!!)
Hopefully, you find all of the episode as satisfying as Margaret found the very last bit.
This week, for some reason we open the episode by talking about a tweet for ten minutes (though it DOES lead to a fruitful recounting of our past juvenile delinquencies). Then, we return to one of our most reliable content mines, digging up good ones and bad ones from the spring 2020 TV calendar to watch and discuss later.
SHOW NOTES:
The tweet: https://twitter.com/LisaMMcGee/status/1237785183631413248
Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jwEiXdJGKM
The Plot Against America: https://www.hbo.com/the-plot-against-america
Mrs. America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIpTIPKTOkU
Council of Dads: https://www.nbc.com/council-of-dads
The Bachelor Presents: Listen to your Heart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bachelor_Presents:_Listen_to_Your_Heart
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-reboot-jimmy-kimmel-host.html
For this episode we're joined by our lovely friend Kamille Washington to discuss the final season of Bojack Horseman, a show that even animation-phobic Kathryn has to admit is pretttttttty good. First, though, Kamille and Andrew kindly offer Kathryn a place to briefly and enthusiastically yell about Babylon Berlin.
Margaret choosing blindness while watching Love is Blind
In today's episode, we talk, of course, about Netflix's terrible, wonderful new reality TV show Love Is Blind because Margaret's brainworms demanded it, and Andrew indulgently complied. THEN, we move on to discuss the unusual-- and excellent-- standalone episode of Apple TV+'s new video game development sitcom, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (aka Mythic Raven: Banquet Quest) and how different kinds of standalone episodes function narratively within the runs of their respective shows. For, as Andrew points out, the absolute, first-ever time.
Kathryn had, predictably, written a number of great pieces on all of the above subjects for Vulture. Please enjoy her essays on:
- on the gorgeous-- perhaps un-replicable-- messiness of this first season of Love Is Blind
- the questionable hosting levels of Obviously, Nick Lachey and his wife Vanessa, who looks like she was famous before she was her wife, but for what, we will never recall nor research.
- and, last but not least, standalone episodes within the runs of High Fidelity and Mythic Banquet: Questlove's Raven
And, for the true diehards: when Craig claimed our wheels were up and when our wheels were, in fact, up.
This week’s episode is our recent live show crossover event with Overdue at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The Appointment Television and Overdue crews gather together to discuss the recent TV adaptation and compare it to the book from which it (and the film, and the ill-starred musical) sprung. Whether we figure out the relative superiority of books or TV as competing artistic formats is left up to the listener.
In a truly impressive and unusual turn of events, Margaret does a startling amount of homework to bring us a glimpse at some of the most interesting queer TV out there right now. Sadly she insists on calling this the "queer TV qorner" even though "qorner" is an objectively unlovely word to look at. We give particular focus to Showtime's Work In Progress, which is new and especially great.
This week we revisit CBS’s Evil, the Good One/Bad One entrant that has burrowed into our brains this year. Then, continuing down the CBS All Access rabbit hole, we talk about the first episode of Picard and how it will and won’t please fans of The Next Generation.
SHOW NOTES:
Evil: https://www.cbs.com/shows/evil/
Picard: https://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-picard/
THIS WEEK, we have some special treats for you!
First, as our improbably long bumper will inform you, we have a live show in Ohio coming up on Thursday, February 20th! Andrew, Kathryn, Margaret, and Andrew's other podcasting family Craig Getting (with whom he makes the exceptionally popular book podcast for teens, Overdue) are going back to the college that made us (summoned, perhaps, by a calling bell*) to debate the all-important question: which is better, TV or books? The show will start at 7:00 PM and end at 8:30 PM and you can find all further information right here: bit.ly/booksortv
Now with THAT out of the way, our second surprise! Andrew is only to be found in the first 6 minutes of today's episode, after which he is replaced by our beloved pal Christina Tucker of The Unfriendly Black Hotties, Pop Culture Happy Hour, and Autostraddle to discuss her deranged darling, The Morning Show. Is it good? Why does it think UBA sounds like a real TV network? Why is Christina so obsessed with Jen Aniston??? How would Christina rank all of Jen's breakdowns in this first season? Tune in and find out!
(Andrew is* in this video, 5 points to Gryffindor if you can spot him)
This week, the first order of business is a rundown of shows ending in 2020, and a plea to any listener who actually knows what's happening on Supernatural to please tell us about it. (Very briefly).
Then, inspired by shows like Watchmen, Succession and with a gimlet eye cast toward The Witcher, we talk about weekly release schedules in the time of the Netflix binge. Weekly releases: we like them! And not just because we don't have time to binge shows on the weekends anymore!
Andrew’s baby started throwing up on him mere minutes before we were supposed to record so we present to you: Margaret and Kathryn’s BONNET WATCH. It’s about period shows where people wear bonnets. Certainly, this makes it easier to appreciate what Andrew adds to or subtracts from the podcast.
SHOW NOTES:
Sanditon: https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/sanditon-review-jane-austen-pbs-masterpiece.html
The Good Lord Bird: https://www.sho.com/the-good-lord-bird
Bridgerton: https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/bridgerton-shonda-rhimes-netflix/
Fun facts about John Brown: https://npg.si.edu/learn/classroom-resource/john-brown-1800-1859
This week, we bring our discussion of Lodge 49's first season to a close, talking over episodes 7, 8, 9 and the complete and utter collapse of capitalist structures they represent. In the process we also touch upon: Bruce Campbell's most famous film role (his cameo at the beginning of the movie Congo, of course), the two types of people you find in corporate training seminars, the questionable efficacy of suicide threats as a debt reduction strategy, and the undeniable elan of flinging a silicone boob push-up at your former manager. We hope you've enjoyed hanging out with Ernie and Dud as much as we have.
A first for the ol' ATV crew this week! We chat briefly about Dickinson, which is far away the weirdest, funniest, strangest, best thing you can watch on Apple TV+. And then we're joined by its creator Alena Smith, a TV veteran who talked to us about the show's juxtaposition of period setting with modern vernacular, the experience of making a show for Apple, and about the big Dickinson-Cats crossover happening in Season 2. (Kidding! Or are we??)
Happy 2020, everyone! We're taking a week off, but just in case your resolution involved listening to more of us, we've dug up a classic episode from our archive! In episode 90, our first listener Q&A, we A some of your most pressing Qs (from 2017). Most of these answers are probably still applicable! Most of them.
It’s a Boxing Day miracle! As we do every year, we revisit the kingdom of Aldovia (now with much more about its history and geography revealed) to spend time fixing the simple and improbably Christmas-oriented problems of its royal family. This year, Aldovia needs to ratify a treaty with a neighboring fictional kingdom to avert war, and Queen Amber gives birth to a bouncing baby four-month-old.
SHOW NOTES:
Christmas Prince 3: The Royal Baby on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81029841
Our first Christmas Prince episode: https://atvpodcast.com/post/168783737692/episode-121-a-christmas-prince
And our second: https://atvpodcast.com/post/181075876090/episode-171-a-christmas-prince-2-the-royal
Because we received some feedback on our Perfect Harmony segment, we dedicate the first part of this episode to discussing exactly what we mean when we say "bad one," and also we chat about Margaret's southern accent. (We do not celebrate Margaret's southern accent as anything other than "very entertaining to listen to.")
Next, it's Lodge 49 book club! This week: crushing debt, anxiety about the future, capitalism, socialism, parasites both metaphorical and literal.
These WILL make sense in context.
This week, you get exactly what's on the tin as we, first among our kind in this novel approach!!, mark the decade's end by reflecting on the decade's #content. Which means:
- We talk a lot about the challenges of novelty New Year's Eve sunglass design in the 2010s
- We talk about how TV technology has changed with time!
- Andrew shares helpful charts and infographics about how TV size has changed and how size and distance from the TV correlate.
- We share some of our favorite shows of the decade, and why!
- And Margaret cries, OBVIOUSLY!
We hope you enjoy it, pals. We love you guys.
We return to The Mandalorian, because when we first discussed it, none of us knew about the great gift of Baby Yoda. The problem with this discussion is that Kathryn is the one who wanted to raise it, and then she leaves to deal with a childcare issue, and neither Andrew nor Margaret have seen The Mandalorian. Nevertheless they persist!
Following that situation, we return to Lodge 49 for a lively conversation about what happens when you find a corpse in your lodge that is definitely not a mummy.
Hello everyone! To mark Thanksgiving, we your intrepid TV podcast hosts have gathered to discuss our final round of good one/bad one. This week it's Andrew's picks. We start with the good, HBO's Watchmen, and then continue on to the TURKEY (get it!!) of NBC's Pitch Perfect Harmony. No pauses indicating our inability to remember that show's actual title have been edited out. Come, join us, and find out why Jesus is the TRUE Eye of the Tiger. Discussed in the show:
- Damon Lindelof wondering whether he's cursed for making Watchmen
- Brian Grubb's "A Few Relatively Straightforward Questions About Watchmen"
- And the early ratings for Game of Thrones on HBO
We come to you with some fall TV updates, which you should probably note are less updates than they are "things we were thinking two weeks ago and it turns out we'd probably have different things to say about them if we recorded it last night but we didn't!" The reason this segment is still coming to you is so you can hear Kathryn have an absolute meltdown over the word midichlorian.
Then, it's the first installment of our Lodge 49 book club! We're discussing the pilot, which is dreamy and sad and funny and perfect.
A fun thing you might not know about our processis that, as we record the episodes, we're supposed to pop notes into a thread in our Slack that contain, say, links to articles we mention in the podcast or notes about audio issues like "For some reason in the last two minutes of the podcast, Kathryn's mic cuts out almost entirely and like you can do your best to fix it, but there's really no way to, IDK." But this week's show notes thread contained only the following:
So here we all are together, just hanging in there, trying to make it better. Tune in this week for nothing pertaining to Weird Al, but much pertaining to: the progression of Andrew's baby's cuteness, babies who are worried about their social security, what a difference truly great actors make to the quality of your puzzle box mystery show, what age and wisdom can teach YOU, and oh so ever so much more. Please do @ us with any suggestions for lyrics to "Syndicated," and get ROLLING on our new TV Book Club: Lodge 49, which AMC cancelled the VERY DAY we recorded.
Hooray for good TV shows! Booo for bad TV shows! This week we're talking about FOX's Almost Family and CBS's Evil - see if you can guess which is the good one and which is the bad one! Hint: the bad one involves a show making light of medical sexual assault.
In this episode, we discuss many topics such as: how are Mystery-flavor Dum Dums made? Is it possible to misuse the word "jawn"? And which pop songs does Andrew think could most easily be transmuted into Jesus-y praise ballads? But ABOVE ALL, we dedicate ourselves to naming, as has been our ritual for lo, so many Fall TV Seasons, which shows, both good and bad, we are going to be making each other watch for your benefit.
- Kathryn's Good One
- Kathryn's Bad One
- Margaret's Good One
- Margaret's Bad One
- And the actually good Australian series it's based on
- And the probing questions it provoked at TCA
- And the many people with personal experience of its premise who really hate it
- Andrew's Good One
- Andrew's Bad One
Come with us on this journey.... if you dare!
Have you heard of this HBO show Succession? No? Then you probably are not following Kathryn on twitter, where she has been yelling about it for months. Months! Recently Andrew has joined her in this obsession, and we also invited our friend Christina to come jump on the Succession celebration train. Plus: have you heard of Disney+? They are gonna have a lot of stuff on that platform!
If you think an episode that would cause Margaret to assert “I think we’re more Appointment Friendship than Appointment TV” sounds like a good time then BOY is this week's show for you! Covered herein: The struggles of parenting and creating podcasts simultaneously! What this season of The Great British Bake-Off has to do with the sitcom What We Do In The Shadows! What on earth is going on with Apple TV! And could Quibi be... good?? A short silly episode that we hope you all enjoy.
This week we talk about the delights and dangers of music on TV - the cost of it, the value of it, and how completely disastrous it is if a show uses the wrong music cue and it destroys a scene forever. We're joined by Sophie Brookover and also the glorious return of our beloved and much-missed Andrew!!
One last push and we, our podcast, will have finally birthed a full set of Deadwood-centric paternity leave episodes. In this final episode of Andrew's paternity leave we discuss episodes 9-12 of Deadwood, S2 but also:
- Why it was funny when we called Andrew's then unborn child Axl
- How many times we have to say something in Slack before it becomes funny even if there's little to no humor inherent to it
- How windows are just God's TV
- Whether the Widow Garrett knows when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em
- Irascible matchmaking
- And, most importantly, how old your newborn infant has to be before you can show them NBC's Kings
Thanks for sticking with through all this and yes, if you're wondering, Margaret is still crying over Andrew's son, and he's even more adorable than we'd hoped. NEXT WEEK: we return to our regularly scheduled programming!
Our paternity leave episodes have almost ended! This week we're talking about episodes 7-9 of Deadwood season two, next week we'll be discussing the end of the season, and then it's back to regularly scheduled fall programming. This week, we consider: telegraphs, horses, thoroughfares, and Cosmo-style quizzes about whether you're a Farnum or a Swearengen.
This week on the podcast, we're joined by an extra (hot great) special guest: Tara Ariano, the founder of Television Without Pity (may it rest forever in peace), editor-at-large of Primetimer, podcaster extraordinaire, and personal joint hero of Margaret and Kathryn. We are, in fact, so excited to praise Tara for her many accomplishments that we barely remember to say her name!
In addition to schooling us on the parallels between Lodge 49 and Succession, Tara lets us know if the new Batman-spinoff show Pennyworth is worth it. And then the three of us dig into what we're REALLY here to discuss: the new Showtime original series Couples Therapy, with which it's safe to say we are obsessed. Join us to hear about therapist Orna Guralnik's expressive eyebrows, adorable dog, and astute insights-- as well as Margaret's strange connection to the show Married at First Sight, and what all three of us would do if Bebe Neuwirth wanted to drink our blood. If you enjoyed Tara as much as we did, you can find her any of the following places:
- Recapping classic episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place on the Again With This podcast
- Analyzing the present season of Succession on The Sweet Smell of Succession
- And being generally QUITE interesting and expert about TV at large on her general interest TV podcast, Extra Hot Great (where Kathryn appeared (and covered herself in no Game Time glory) on three episodes.)
Shift yourselves, wains, it's time to talk about Derry Girls! This week we're joined by culture maven Sophie Brookover to talk about this wee Irish sitcom that we love very much. Topics include: Bono, narrative structure, peace walls, teen girl tropes, why Sister Michael became a nun, and several incredibly persuasive book recommendations.
And our Paternity Leave Project continues with a discussion of episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Deadwood S2. Learn: Kathryn's favorite Deadwood episode title! Joanie's inability to pick a good business partner! Our delight in the nuance with which Deadwood depicts historical prejudice! And ever so much more! Next week we'll be digging into episodes 7, 8, and 9.
As previously noted, while Andrew's dadhood was still hypothetical when the episode was recorded, it is now definite. We once again apologize for unmooring you in time.
It's a special edition of TV book club for Andrew's paternity leave! Welcome to Dadwood, our journey through Deadwood season two. This week we're discussing the first three episodes of the season, which Kathryn is aghast to realize means that there is no resolution yet to Al's kidney stones. Hang on to your gleets!
In a rare Andrew-less episode of Appointment Television, Kate Racculia returns to talk with us about the revival season of Veronica Mars. Guess what! We have some critiques! At some point this also involves discussing Lodge 49 and reading character descriptions from the new HBO Joss Whedon show The Nevers, but really it's mostly about Veronica Mars. Be warned: we will spoil what happens at the end of this season!
On this week's episode of our every timely podcast, we're discussing season 3 of Stranger Things with special repeat guest Kate Racculia! Whose wit, charm, and Big Barb Energy you might recall from her appearance in our Stranger Things, S1 TV Book Club. Listen to find out what made Margaret want to throw her computer across the room in annoyance, why Andrew thinks capitalism is the strangest thing of all, how many times Kathryn can say the word serial before you absolutely must eat a bowl of serial or die, and the SURPRISE TWIST mention of Little Women you never see coming. If you are as struck with Kate as it is evident we are, follow her on Twitter or Instagram, or-- better still!!-- buy one of her great books:
- This Must Be the Place
- Bellweather Rhapsody
- and Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts (out October 8th!)
On this week's episode we discuss both Pop TV, the channel that's now home to Schitt's Creek and One Day at Time, AND ABC's new #PeakSummer tv: the miniature golf/obstacle course show Holey Moley. Plus we address the all-important question: is listening to "mood music" when you bone down a super weird?
Look, we accept that the order of this is going to be a little wonky. Paternity leave! Things got a little out of order. But this week we're going to talk about the Deadwood movie, even though we also announce that later this summer, we will be doing Deadwood season 2 as a paternity leave book club. Spoilers for Deadwood, a very old show!
Before we get to the Deadwood movie, and Kathryn waxes rhapsodic about all things David Milch, we do a brief mailbag segment where we talk about Blue Bloods!
In the last episode we've recorded before Andrew departs on paternity leave, we have a nice long talk about all the TV we're looking forward to catching up on. Spoiler: Margaret suggests we assign her stuff and then laughs heartily and the idea she might actually watch any of it.
We also have a brief conversation about the 2019 Emmy nominations, and some thoughts on how far we as a culture have come in the past 10 years.
This week! We're checking in on Amazon's Wheel of Time series in light of fresh* casting news, answering one particularly novel mailbag question, and then wrapping up our Good Fight book club with a desultory conversation about episodes 7-10. A conversation which includes a lot more information than you'd expect about the classic 1989 family film, The Adventures of Milo & Otis.
*(when we recorded)
This week we are deeply saddened that Andrew is not with us, and immensely joyful to welcome someone else in his absence: his wife Suz! We break down all things Big Little Lies, including but not limited to: why this season exists, who our favorite characters are, the dubious utility of dressing up as Bo Peep when you're giving therapy to a child, and Meryl Streep's teeth.
For our big 200th episode, we hope you enjoy the backdoor pilot for THE BONES ZONE, our weekly podcast about the show Bones. It’s been a long road, folks, but we’re so glad you support us in our weird art.
SHOW NOTES:
“Emily Deschanel on Biggest 'Bones' Lessons”: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/emily-deschanel-biggest-bones-lessons-working-david-boreanaz-returning-tv-1215108
WATCH THE SHOW BONES: https://www.hulu.com/series/bones-08cc467f-2057-4331-825a-1f993c79c862
What if CBS All Access ... is good? We're pretty sure it's not but there are enough things about it now that we feel like it's worth discussing. We also chat about episodes 4, 5 and 6 of the first season of The Good Fight.
PLUS, stay tuned for an extremely important announcement about our 200th episode regarding what Zone it will occupy.
This week's show is all about one of our favorite writers and performers, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. After talking about her current and upcoming projects, we dive deep into the masterwork that is season 2 of Fleabag.
SHOW NOTES:
PWB's HBO pilot: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/phoebe-waller-bridge-comedy-run-lands-hbo-pilot-order-1102282
PWB and rehabilitating James Bond: https://deadline.com/2019/05/phoebe-waller-bridge-bond-1202624860/
Kathryn on Fleabag's wall-breaking second season: https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/fleabag-season-2-fourth-wall-ending.html
This week we're starting our latest TV book club, the CBS All Access / briefly CBS series The Good Fight! It's a spin-off of the long-running legal procedural The Good Wife, so we start with a little game where we try to come up with some especially unlikely or improbable spin-offs of our own. But when we turn to The Good Fight, we want to make things very clear: You do not need to have seen the original series to enjoy this show. Plus we will explain the very few Good Fight references you'll find here. We'll also explain the phrase "Chunk Palmer."
Remember those little interviews they would air after every episode of Game of Thrones? And how they were always kind of bad? And how most HBO shows also do them and they’re almost always kind of bad? We talk about those.
We also chat about the mockumentary format by way of FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, a show that is (thankfully) funny enough to outshine a threadbare format.
SHOW NOTES:
What We Do In The Shadows: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/what-we-do-in-the-shadows
The Beets (from the cartoon Doug): https://doug.fandom.com/wiki/The_Beets
We decided to talk a little about the shows most viewers do actually watch, that get decidedly less attention than many of the buzziest, prestige-iest series. We talk about some specific examples, including Blue Bloods, Grey's Anatomy, and The Goldbergs, but we also try to think a little about how these shows work, what the appeal is, and what we lose out on by just sort of forgetting they're always out there.
Also, Margaret watches a show called Jonathan Creek for Kozy Mystery Korner, and we laugh quite a bit at his sweet sweet 90s boy hair.
This week we chat about a report correlating TV viewing habits (and viewers' feelings about specific shows) with their political views. Then we talk about how we, as a society, just can't quit our reruns of sitcom rerun standbys like The Office and Friends.
SHOW NOTES:
Get your politics into my TV: http://www.mediaimpactproject.org/uploads/5/1/2/7/5127770/pcc-report_0422_pdf.pdf
People can't stop watching these old-ass shows: https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/the-office-friends-and-greys-anatomy-were-netflixs-most-streamed-shows-last-year/
But there's something about The Office (US): https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/why-the-office-now-one-of-netflixs-biggest-hits-still-resonates-with-audiences/
It's time to check in with a bunch of new and upcoming series for the summer, a segment that includes discussion of such things as: Good Omens, The Society, Big Little Lies S2, Veronica Mars, and The Boys. It's also a very special edition of a Patreon Forcening, featuring an episode someone asked MARGARET to watch. The world turned upside down.
This week, we revisit TV's biggest news about its biggest show, which is of course the show Bones. Then, we chat about Netflix's show Special, which is worth watching in concept despite its uneven execution. Bones update update: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/stunning-bones-decision-fox-aims-wipe-128m-punitive-damages-1203988?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter The Bones lawsuit, explained: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bones-lawsuit-how-a-hit-885459 Hulu’s Ramy: https://www.hulu.com/series/ramy-4bcb6c3a-3d9a-4d49-b8e0-57fb7de9c8d6 Netflix’s Special: https://www.netflix.com/title/80987458 Where Netflix let Special down: https://www.tvguide.com/news/netflix-special-review/
First we talk a bit about Barry and Fleabag, two shows which we thought did not need second seasons. It turns out we were wrong! But then, we jump on the bandwagon for an actually timely episode about this week's Game of Thrones battle, so that Andrew can give us a nice little technology corner about why exactly no one could see any of Game of Thrones. Turns out it's... compression! Also, your bad TV lights. Also did you ever calibrate your TV?
This week, Kathryn finally settles her longrunning feud with wildlife expert-slash-goofball idiot Bear Grylls. Then, we gather around the watercooler to discuss the latest character to die on the final season of Game Of Thrones: the concept of watercooler television!! Of course, what is dead may never die.
SHOW NOTES:
You vs. Wild: https://www.netflix.com/title/80227574
Is Game of Thrones the last watercooler show? https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-the-last-show-we-watch-together.html
Is watercooler TV just dead, then??? https://www.theocelot.co.uk/is-there-still-room-for-watercooler-tv-in-the-netflix-era/
Our first task this week is to help a patron in need of some recommendations for happy, slow-burning rom-com TV. At the beginning of the segment Kathryn laments how few options there are to provide this; several minutes later, many options are provided.
The main course of this episode, though, is an in depth conversation about Hulu's recent series Shrill, the Aidy Bryant-led adaptation of Lindy West's memoir. Margaret. Has. Feelings.
This week Andrew watches the first episode of Netflix’s Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, a deeply weird Japanese show about a dude who gets horny for traditional Japanese sweets. Then we get serious and talk about the ongoing situation between the WGA and Hollywood agents, agents who may or may not be profiting too much off of the efforts of writers.
SHOW NOTES: Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman: https://www.netflix.com/title/80175348
The WGA’s fight with Hollywood Agencies, Explained: https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/wga-hollywood-agents-packaging-explained.html
How Hollywood Writers Feel About Leaving Their Agents: https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/wga-writers-on-leaving-their-agents-8-weigh-in.html
Margaret updates us on some new offerings in the Cozy Mystery category, including a review of the new spin-off of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and a brand-new Acorn series about mystery writers who, naturally, solve mysteries.
Then, we attempt to break down what is going on with the new Apple TV streaming service, including such important questions as: what does it cost? When will it be available? What will be on it? Will it be any good? (Spoiler: We have answers to almost none of those questions.)
This week we hit all the HOT news about the long-canceled TV show Bones, and then we wrap up our TV Book Club about the first season of HBO's Deadwood (a show that we will, in all probability, revisit).
SHOW NOTES:
Bones! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fox-rocked-by-179-million-bones-ruling-lying-cheating-reprehensible-studio-fraud-1190346
Deadwood! https://www.hbo.com/deadwood
There is also a second segment to this episode, in which Andrew, Margaret and Kathryn all pitch imaginary TV shows about good journalism, and as per usual Margaret has an eerie number of truly fantastic TV ideas. But the main event here is that a patron forced Andrew to watch a truly awful TV show called Do No Harm aka Dr Facehands, and it was magnificent.
It's all Deadwood again this week, as we continue our latest TV Book Club. And stay tuned til the end of the show for a Very Special Announcement.
SHOW NOTES:
Deadwood: https://www.hbo.com/deadwood
Kathryn Loves Deadwood And Has Thought Pretty Hard About It: https://twitter.com/kvanaren/status/1097342752524767234
Malcolm In The Middle for some reason?: https://www.hulu.com/series/malcolm-in-the-middle-ca1ac46e-9883-4125-a6e8-97efce9a2bf5?dl=false
Is a picture of Natasha Lyonne holding a raw chicken the best way to sell you on watching Russian Doll? Netflix thought that's what would get Kathryn! We discuss the way Netflix personalizes its menus in order to hack your brain, and how creepy it is when brands act like people. Then we turn to a bigger discussion of Russian Doll, and how much we love it, and how it bears a resemblance to several other recent shows.
This week it's all-Deadwood all the time. The show really starts coming into its own in these episodes, murdering its best-known historical figure and building out characters and just cussing until there are no more cusses to cuss.
SHOW NOTES:
Watch Deadwood dangit!! https://www.hbo.com/deadwood
In this week’s episode we SAY that we’re going to keep Kathryn from simply reciting every episode of Deadwood in its entirety, but we don’t do a very good job. Kathryn also makes some more recommendations for loyal listeners.
SHOW NOTES
CBS’s new… Frankenstein show???? https://ew.com/tv/2019/01/31/cbs-frankenstein-pilot/
Durrells in Corfu: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/the-durrells-in-corfu/
Schitt’s Creek: https://www.netflix.com/title/80036165
Younger: https://www.paramountnetwork.com/shows/younger
Acorn TV: https://acorn.tv/
Catastrope: https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophe-Season-1/dp/B00X8UKOUK
Deadwood: https://www.hbo.com/deadwood
Seth Bullock, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Bullock
Sol Star, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Star
Al Swearengen, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Swearengen
We chat about some recommendations for friendly life-affirming reality shows, courtesy of our patron Kirk. But then we turn to an even more life-affirming reality show - something called Forged in Fire: Knife or Death. Everyone giggles an almost unbearable amount. (On the podcast, that is. People on Forged in Fire are very, very serious.) You would not believe how hard it is to cut through a giant hanging fish.
This week, Andrew gets to a request from one of our patrons and watches the pilot of Netflix's Travelers. Then, we chat about some listener-submitted ideas for Bandersnatch-style narrative adventures, and then Andrew is pleasantly surprised by Star Trek Discovery Season 2.
SHOW NOTES
McKenzie & Co, from the golden age of CD-ROM games: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_%26_Co
Netflix's Travelers: https://www.netflix.com/title/80105699
Choose Your Own Adventure books, mapped: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cyoa-choose-your-own-adventure-maps
Bootyspank was hard to make: https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/how-black-mirror-bandersnatch-was-made.html
Extra Hot Great: http://previously.tv/shows/extra-hot-great/
Anson Mount is Hot Mitt Romney: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anson_Mount
Discovery S2: https://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/
Before we discuss the final episodes of Killing Eve season one, we turn our steely, jaded gazes onto whatever the hell is going on with FOX’s new reality show The Masked Singer. It’s a dystopian fever dream! The judges are so terrible! We think one of them is T-Pain! But the end of Killing Eve is great, and so we talk about its greatness, Konstatin's daughter, and the fact that Eve's marriage is completely unnecessary.
Netflix has us wrapped up in its warm, all-enveloping tendrils again this week - first, a chat about the choose-your-own-adventure-style Black Mirror outing Bindersplitch, and then we clean up our act with Marie Kondo.
SHOW NOTES:
How Butterspread came together: https://www.wired.com/story/black-mirror-bandersnatch-interactive-episode/
Other, possibly better, Twine-based text adventures: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/power-to-the-people-the-text-adventures-of-twine/1100-6402665/
Video Games Did It Better: https://www.slashfilm.com/black-mirror-bandersnatch-criticism/
WOW LOTTA BUMPERSTINK LINKS THIS WEEK: https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/black-mirror-bandersnatch-all-endings-explained.html
What happens when a whole city KonMaris all at once: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-and-off-the-avenue/the-marie-kondo-effect-reaches-beacons-closet
We love Killing Eve so much that our entire episode is a book club spectacular. In this episode we discuss episodes 3, 4 and 5 of Killing Eve, and only immense restraint keeps us from spending the whole time quoting every line from each episode just so we can marvel at it again.
Our year end/year beginning extravaganza is here, and we’re doling out the fake awards left and right! We go over genres like “best statement necklaces” and “time my mom was most right,” before continuing on to talk about how we want to watch TV better in 2019.
SHOW NOTES
Sisters (the TV show): https://www.netflix.com/title/80994108
The Durrels in Corfu: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/the-durrells-in-corfu/
HBO’s Barry: https://www.hbo.com/barry
Who What When Where Wine shirt: https://www.etsy.com/listing/647913474/who-what-when-where-wine-chidi-good
Killing Eve: https://www.hulu.com/series/killing-eve-c9d3b601-54db-42d1-a1ed-8950cea491b1
Prue Leith on her love of necklaces: https://prue-leith.com/my-love-of-necklaces/
Kathryn on Last Man Standing: https://www.vulture.com/2018/09/last-man-standing-is-unexpectedly-warm.html
Superstore, again: https://www.hulu.com/series/superstore-727810b8-e54b-4f01-9381-a79ab5661bf7
GLOW: https://www.netflix.com/title/80114988
Here at Appointment Television, we want you to ring in the new year the best way we know how: by making sure you've turned off motion smoothing on your and every other television you have access to. Accordingly, Andrew does a deep dive into what exactly motion smoothing is, and we all talk about how unexpected it was to find Tom Cruise as our guide to this question. Then it's time for a festive holiday book club: Killing Eve!! We talk about the first two episodes this week, and spoiler, we really like them.
This week, Margaret watches some television! And tells Kathryn and Andrew about it. Then, we go through a list of the winter 2019 shows that we’re the most excited to see.
In the long-awaited follow-up to our recap of A Christmas Prince from last winter, we bring you a full episode of coverage on A Christmas Prince 2: The Royal Wedding. We were deeply concerned that the Netflix Christmas movie would fail to live up to the, um, glories of the first one. But never fear - it is just as silly and awkward and nonsensical as the original.
This week, we finally hit the last of our good and bad fall TV shows: Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the NBC medical drama New Amsterdam. We don’t come away loving either of them?? But that’s how it goes sometimes.
SHOW NOTES:
On Nick Bakay, fellow Kenyon alum and voice of the original Salem: http://bulletin-archive.kenyon.edu/x1071.html
New Amsterdam sucks: https://www.vulture.com/2018/09/new-amsterdam-nbc-review.html
New Amsterdam still sucks: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/11/new-amsterdam-nbc-show-physician-distrust-bellevue/576712/
We sweep toward the ignominious end of our book club of the first season of The Newsroom! No one is particularly happy to be here, but we are extremely happy it's done.
Happy Thanksgiving! Please enjoy this entry from our archives, an episode where we discuss standalone episodes and our favorite TV theme songs.
In this week’s show we complain for exactly as long as we want about the terrible bewildering interfaces we all need to use to watch TV right now, and then we talk about some good shows you should watch: Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat, and Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act.
SHOW NOTES:
Samin Nosrat’s “beauty uniform”: https://cupofjo.com/2018/10/samin-nosrat-beauty-uniform/
The Patriot Act/Queer Eye Crossover Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFhRONeopbQ
How Hasan Minhaj fits into our culture of performative dunking: https://www.npr.org/2018/10/29/661624301/hasan-minhaj-breaks-through-dunk-fatigue-with-patriot-act
We're joined by guest Christina Tucker this week, who covers from Kathryn (who got very sick on that recording day) and bravely subjects herself to watching three episodes of The Newsroom. Before we talk about that, though, Christina, Andrew and Margaret chat about their earliest TV crushes, a discussion that involves Christina waxing rhapsodic about Angie Harmon on Law and Order. Then its... you know. The Newsroom. Again.
Kathryn battles through illness as we answer our way through YOUR most pressing TV questions! What TV tropes do we love? Which TV parents would we choose as our own? And what were our favorite shows a decade ago? All that and more, during a wonder respite from The Newsroom!
SHOW NOTES
All of our questions, laid out in order! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G31R0Urzme9gtocIq8qqaoIwsY-rptWMlyod7GHRHQk
Lest we sully any other TV topic with proximity to a discussion of The Newsroom, this week our entire episode is dedicated to episodes 2, 3 and 4 of season 1 of Sorkin's disastrous work. There is much yelling, and gnashing of teeth.
This week we come back for another GoodOne/BadOne, in which we debate the parameters of The Purge TV series and are... surprisingly OK with God Friended Me, as dumb as it is.
SHOW NOTES
The Purge: http://www.usanetwork.com/thepurge/episodes?cid=ps_ThePurge__S1Launch_2018Q3_
God Friended Me: https://www.cbs.com/shows/god-friended-me/
It's an episode full of ups and downs, as we discuss the delights of the second season of American Vandal (and also its few detractions, none of which are seriously troubling), and then turn to kick off our Newsroom book club with a discussion of the pilot episode. Gradually we begin to wonder why we have done this to ourselves, and Margaret goes on a glorious rant about "McKenzie McFucking McHale."
This week, we watch two of our new fall premieres for an old segment newly christened Good One/Bad One. The Good One is The Good Cop, a Netflix show which is vaguely pleasant and generally inoffensive. The Bad One is Manifest, a vaguely Lost-flavored high-concept drama with an interesting premise and bad execution. Also, Kathryn does a Tony Danza impression that shows that when you shoot for the moon, even when you miss, you land among the stars.
SHOW NOTES:
The Good Cop: https://www.netflix.com/title/80157073
Tony Danza on The Good Cop: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8475886/tony-danza-the-good-cop-theme-song-josh-groban-interview
Manifest: https://www.nbc.com/manifest?nbc=1
The Bad Fan Theory Internet Strikes Again: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Reactions-Manifest-Season-1-Premiere-45311040
It's a bevy of badness this week, alas. We talk about the recent upheaval at CBS after Les Moonves's MeToo moment finally arrived, and point out some recommended reading for this era of revelation and anguish. We also have a recommendation for other guys who've been the subject of MeToo allegations who are now trying to creep back into the public sphere, which is: don't!
From that cheerful topic, we move on to some more lighthearted yelling about TV journalists, namely, terrible depictions of female journalists on TV. Because it's a fest of awful, we also introduce our next TV bookclub... THE NEWSROOM.
This week we evaluate the new era (in the US, at least) of the Great British Bake-Off, which is still at the very least a Good British Bake-Off. Then we try to talk about other reality television shows but mostly end up yelling about the Bachelor again.
SHOW NOTES
Where to find all of Noel Fielding’s shirts: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/great-british-bake-off-2018-noel-fielding-shirts-where-how-to-buy-them-ranked-a8534251.html
The New Jersey Life of Macaroni Rascals: http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/none/macaroni-rascals-mtvs-jersey-shore-comes-japan-490032/
The Great British Baking Show on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80063224
Andrew, compelled by a patron’s dollars, watches an episode of professional wrestling; Margaret and Kathryn learn a lot about someone named Joey Ryan and also that wrestlers can be like the Dred Pirate Roberts. We then have a chat about what makes for a good TV narrator, in which Kathryn gesticulates for a while about the new Lifetime series You, and we debate the relative merits of Carrie from Sex and the City versus JD from Scrubs.
This week, a return to a time-honored tradition: we run down a bunch of fall TV shows and we each pick a good one and a bad one to watch. Enjoy! Or don't!
SHOW NOTES:
Whiskey Cavalier: https://abc.go.com/shows/abc-new-shows/news/shows/whiskey-cavalier-coming-soon-to-abc
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: https://www.netflix.com/title/80223989
The Purge: http://www.usanetwork.com/thepurge/cast
My Brilliant Friend: https://www.hbo.com/my-brilliant-friend
New Amsterdam: https://www.nbc.com/new-amsterdam
You: https://www.mylifetime.com/shows/you/about
God Friended Me: https://www.cbs.com/shows/god-friended-me/
Manifest: https://www.nbc.com/manifest
Making It, the new reality TV show starring Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler, is exactly what we needed this summer, and we talk about it, its small growing pains, and how America finally figured out how to do a decent Great British Bake-Off rip-off. Then we yell, quite a bit, about how dumb it is to make a television show based on the song “Hey There, Delilah,” before pitching our own TV shows based on songs. Every single one we pitch would make a better TV show than “Hey There, Delilah.”
This week we talk about the EXTREMELY EXCITING NEWS that Patrick Stewart is returning to TV as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series, then we wrap up the last three episodes of our TV Book Club on Pamela Adlon's Better Things.
SHOW NOTES
The new Trek announcement: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/05/635809156/patrick-stewart-is-reprising-his-role-as-captain-picard-in-new-star-trek-series
Better Things: https://www.hulu.com/series/better-things-70d330d1-cb23-403f-b3b6-f8f392c4ce5e
Kathryn brings some new Patreon recommendations in this episode, this time for someone in search of some queer leaning scifi/fantasy shows. Then we talk about the extremely strange NBC sitcom Trial & Error, a true crime parody romp that made us laugh a lot.
This week, we take another trip to Kathryn's deep deep well of TV recommendations. Then, we continue our journey through episodes 5, 6, and 7 of Better Things.
SHOW NOTES:
Recommendations!
Dear White People: https://www.netflix.com/title/80095698
GLOW: https://www.netflix.com/title/80114988
Playing House: http://www.usanetwork.com/playinghouse
Black-ish: https://abc.go.com/shows/blackish/news/updates/stream-blackish-all-seasons-on-hulu
Better Things: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/better-things
Because Kathryn couldn't convince Andrew or Margaret to immediately drop all of their responsibilities and watch all of Superstore, and because Margaret felt that neither Andrew nor Kathryn could do justice to a discussion of Sex and the City, we have a guest who can help with both of those things!
As is sadly inevitable for podcast guesting, we had some issues with Kamille's audio later in the episode, so there's a bit less of her than we'd like. Obviously you need more Kamille than this in your life, so please make sure to listen to an episode of the podcast she co-hosts, The Unfriendly Black Hotties, to get the proper Kamille dosage.
This week we climb into a figurative car and discuss the deal with Jerry Seinfeld's brand of comedy in 2018, and then we hit the next three episodes of Pamela Adlon's Better Things.
SHOW NOTES
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee may not be made for these times: http://www.vulture.com/2018/07/comedians-in-cars-getting-coffee-season-10-netflix-review.html
Better Things: https://www.hulu.com/better-things
It was a frustrating and strange week in television news, so we cover the two topics that drove us the most bonkers: HBO's alarming town hall and the brief not-quite existence of a branded set of Handmaid's Tale wines. Please note that in spite of what Margaret suggests in this episode, we are no longer subjecting Andrew to copious alcohol consumption beyond whatever he chooses to consume for himself.
This week, we dust off our ol' inbox to respond to a lot of comments-not-questions, and then we dive into our new TV Book Club segment on Pamela Adlon's Better Things.
SHOW NOTES:
Raising Hope: https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/fox-cancels-raising-hope-after-4-seasons-1201128773/
The Rundown with Robin Thede: https://www.bet.com/shows/the-rundown-with-robin-thede.html
Better Things: https://www.hulu.com/better-things
On this summer holiday week, we have a short grab bag episode of chat about what we're currently watching. Andrew mentions black-ish and Quantum Leap, Margaret's watching a very strange French satire show that Kathryn has a hard time being persuaded by, and Kathryn's been watching a documentary about the New York Times. Plus, we announce our next book club - the first season of FX's Better Things.
We're live from the Philadelphia Podcast Festival this week, talking about travel on TV and then our own super pander-y visions for Philadelphia-based TV shows.
SHOW NOTES:
What The Hell Is The Process: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2729018-the-definitive-history-of-trust-the-process
The Philadelphia Podcast Festival: http://www.phillypodfest.com/
This week, Kathryn gives us her report on what went down at the ATX TV festival in Austin. Then, spurred by a recent Mo Ryan tweet thread, we talk about why TV chooses to kill so many of its all-too-rare women and PoC characters in the current “anyone can die” twist-and-shocker-heavy world of TV dramas.
SHOW NOTES:
ATX interviews via the TV Campfire podcast: http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/23/atx-television-festival-podcast-the-tv-campfire/
Kathryn’s interview on American Vandal Season 2: http://www.vulture.com/2018/06/american-vandal-atx-festival-interview.html
An Oral History of Nana’s Party: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/06/anatomy-of-a-scene-american-vandal-netflix-nanas-party-making-of-oral-history
Mo Ryan on women and PoC characters dying on TV: https://twitter.com/moryan/status/1006203919939325952
Apparently, not anyone can die: https://variety.com/2016/tv/opinion/tv-deaths-walking-dead-the-100-arrow-1201751968/
Character TV deaths in 2015-16, tracked: https://www.vox.com/a/tv-deaths-lgbt-diversity
After a week's delay due to Kathryn sounding like a monster from a children’s movie, we return with full voices to discuss the final installment of our ER book club. Margaret swears she will never trust David Krumholtz again. First, though, we talk about some Netflix news and yell about the weird phenomenon of half seasons.
This week, we talk briefly about Roseanne's terrible behavior bringing down her successful rebooted sitcom, delivering an unexpected (but not unappreciated) ATV Kiss of Death to yet another program. Then, we spend some time looking forward to this summer's TV; there's a surprising amount that you should add to your schedule.
SHOW NOTES:
Roseanne canceled because Roseanne Barr is racist: http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/29/media/roseanne-twitter-chelsea-clinton/index.html
Set It Up on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80184100
Marvel's Cloak & Dagger on Freeform: https://freeform.go.com/shows/marvels-cloak-and-dagger
Pose on Netflix: http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/pose
Sharp Objects on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/sharp-objects
Queer Eye on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80160037
Kimmy Schmidt Season 4 on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80025384
GLOW on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80114988
The Bold Type on Freeform: https://freeform.go.com/shows/the-bold-type
Younger on TV Land: http://www.tvland.com/shows/younger
We begin our conversation by welcoming back guest host Christina Tucker, who joins us to talk about the wild ride of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's cancellation and swift resurrection. We also talk about the tricky, complicated dynamics of storytelling designed to humanize cops. Afterward, it's the return of TV vs TV! Thanks to a patreon supporter, we spend some time considering the vitally important question of best SVU guest star. As per usual, Margaret comes slightly underprepared and Andrew brings jokes.
This week ATV welcomes back Christina Tucker to talk about the next installment in our ER book club, and it's a good thing we do because someone needed to make sure we fully appreciate Julianna Margulies. Before we get to ER, though, it sudden occurs to us that many of the shows we talk about on ATV... get cancelled?
This week we chat a bit about the recut S4 and forthcoming S5 of Arrested Development, a show we thought we'd seen the last of. Then, we talk about the different ways in which TV communicates intelligence.
SHOW NOTES:
The Arrested Development announcement: https://twitter.com/MitchHurwitz/status/991373460986249216
"I make a lot of graphs": https://media.giphy.com/media/l2JdSDAAwdtVa4bzW/giphy.gif
The quintessential GIF: https://media.giphy.com/media/yJu2jIQZgPubm/giphy.gif
First: in some places during this episode, Margaret sounds like she's being played on an old dusty record player. We are sorry about that!
We chat briefly about how there should be more women in late night, which is both obvious and yet still a weirdly, unconscionably lopsided thing about TV culture. Happily, Busy Philips is going to have a talk show on E! Then we turn to the next in our ER book club, which includes a discussion of "Blizzard," "Love's Labor Lost" and "Everything Old Is New Again." If discussions of bad medical outcomes during labor and delivery is going to be upsetting for you... maybe skip some of this!
This week, we finally finish up our 2018 TV overview by talking about the oft-delayed Zach Braff project Alex, Inc., which in the Margaret’s words was a show we could “barely hate.” We also talk about when America fell out of love with Zach Braff, and what non-Roseanne working-class TV looks like right now.
SHOW NOTES, such as they are: Alex Inc. http://abc.go.com/shows/alex-inc
After The Simpsons' truly terrible response to criticism of its character Apu, we talk about what The Simpsons has done wrong, and how weird it is for a show to absolutely refuse to change over time. Then we talk about the pilot episode of ER for our latest book club, and Margaret and Andrew are very patient while Kathryn goes a little bonkers over tracking shots.
This week, Kathryn gives another round of TV recommendations to a listener who’s looking for a show she only has to mostly pay attention to. Then, we spend an hour with the magical ABC crime procedural Deception, and we detail both the kinds of magic we would like to see in future cases and the far-fetched occupations we’d like to see teamed up with the FBI.
SHOW NOTES:
Sports Night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165961/
Justified: http://www.fxtv.com.au/justified
Elementary: https://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/
Pitch: https://www.fox.com/pitch/
Timeless: https://www.nbc.com/timeless?nbc=1
New Girl: https://www.fox.com/new-girl/
Terriers: https://tv.avclub.com/terriers-perfect-one-season-run-defied-description-ma-1798246162
Deception: http://abc.go.com/shows/deception
In fulfillment of another patreon request, Andrew tells Kathryn and Margaret all about a two-part episode of Quantum Leap. This involves attempting to explain the premise of Quantum Leap, much to everyone's delight and confusion. Afterwards, we talk about news clips and news anchors on TV, which includes a celebration of Perd Hapley.
This is our Roseanne revival episode. We are unequivocal in declaring Roseanne Barr to be reprehensible; unpacking her show (and the response it has prompted, at least so far) is more complicated. Come and join us on this frustrating quest!
BEHOLD, A SEA OF ROSEANNE TAKES:
The Roseanne reboot and ABC's "heartland strategy": https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/business/media/roseanne-ratings-trump.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
How TV depicts Trump supporters, explained: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/30/17174720/roseanne-2018-reboot-controversy-trump-explained-review
When different viewers like the same show for different reasons: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/the-great-divide-emily-nussbaum
On the divide between the old Roseanne Conner and the new one: https://decider.com/2018/04/04/new-roseanne-advocates/
ABC tries to separate Roseanne the show from Roseanne the person's toxic political views: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/roseanne-boss-asks-viewers-separate-revival-controversial-stars-persona-1099523
Thanks to a recent spate of TV renewals from Netflix and other outlets, we take a moment to celebrate the upcoming third season of One Day at a Time and talk about the campaign surrounding its renewal. Also, apparently, Nailed It! has been renewed, which we have no feelings about.
Afterwards, we chat about the new HBO hitman comedy show Barry, starring Bill Hader. We like it! A lot!
This week, Kathryn and the gang deliver another round of TV recommendations based on listener requests. We then dive into the worst thing we have watched for the show in recent memory, the soulless Netflix baking competition show Nailed It.
SHOW NOTES!
This week’s TV recommendations:
NBC’s Life: https://www.nbc.com/life?nbc=1
ER: https://www.hulu.com/er
Southland: https://www.thedailybeast.com/southland-televisions-most-underrated-drama
Black-ish: https://www.hulu.com/blackish
Grown-ish: https://www.hulu.com/grownish
Dead Like Me: http://www.vulture.com/2013/06/happy-10th-anniversary-dead-like-me.html
And also there's Nailed It (please do not use this link to watch the show): https://www.netflix.com/title/80179138
This week we kick things off with an overly self-aware discussion about the point of television criticism, who it's for, whether it makes sense to critique things like plausibility and character behavior, and how TV is in fact like books now. (Kathryn, somehow, does not combust). Then we talk about NBC's Good Girls, a show we want to like but also a show that doesn't seem to know what it is yet.
This week instead of doing a little thing and a big thing, we do a bunch of little things. It's an ATV Lightning Round!
SHOW NOTES:
We're not fans of casting the same actor in two or more roles in the same project, there, we said it: http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/10/deuce-james-franco-double/
A woman is running Amazon's TV studios: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/02/amazon-jennifer-salke-studio-head-roy-price-replacement
Cougartown is on Hulu now: http://www.eonline.com/news/906949/one-tree-hill-everwood-and-cougar-town-coming-to-hulu-in-february-2018
The show Younger is a thing! https://www.hulu.com/younger
Recently canceled queer shows that deserved better: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bayleajones/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-butch?utm_term=.twYpk0q59#.txpRmXw4x
Stephanie Beatriz on Rosa Diaz's coming out: http://ew.com/tv/2017/12/05/brooklyn-nine-nine-rosa-bisexual/
It's that time of year when a young TV fan's eye turns to what's happening in the world of spring television releases. We do a short round of selections, including the final season of The Americans, Heidi Thomas' Little Women, and the new NBC series Rise. Then we talk about the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye, which we are much more positive about than we thought we'd be!
This week, Andrew talks about his experience watching the old 70s Lynda Carter Wonder Woman show, which occupies a space somewhere in between the campy action of 60s Adam West Batman and the campy action of the 80s A-Team. Then, we take one last trip to theater camp to wrap up our Slings and Arrows TV Book Club.
SHOW NOTES
More on Wonder Woman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(TV_series)
Wonder Woman on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-Season-1/dp/B000NWZGRW
Slings and Arrows Season 1 Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR-jzPyjAcU
Slings and Arrows Season 1 Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d90kdolykoI
We catch up with the show that killed a beloved TV dad with a popular kitchen appliance on the night of the Super Bowl, This Is Us. We then talk about the fantastic second season of Netflix's One Day at a Time, and dig into a little about Rita Moreno, how the show does politics, and the frustration of amazing, inclusive, human TV shows that feel destined to languish unseen by most TV watchers.
This week, special guest Craig (of Overdue fame) joins the show to help Kathryn recommend a new round of shows to our generous patrons. Then, Craig lends us his theatrical expertise as we jump into episodes 3 and 4 of Slings and Arrows.
SHOW NOTES:
Show recommendations!
Adventure Time: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/adventuretime/
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: https://www.netflix.com/title/70259338
Orange Is The New Black: https://www.netflix.com/title/70242311
Line of Duty: https://www.hulu.com/line-of-duty
Borgen: https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/borgen-season-1-english-subtitles/id1029864055
Slings and Arrows S01E03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kseo537iflc
Slings and Arrows S01E04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXHBBi79wg8
Overdue, where you can hear Craig every week: http://overduepodcast.com/
We return to the world of Black Mirror after a very long break, this time to do a swing through a few episodes of the new season. Each one of us watched a different episode, and we use this opportunity to play a little game - we describe most of the episode we saw, and the other two have to try to imagine what the inevitable Black Mirror twist will be. Kathryn watched "Hang the DJ," Margaret watched "Arkangel," and Andrew watched "USS Callister." Heads up: we definitely spoil all of them.
This week Andrew suffers through Better Late Than Never, a not-quite-reality show about old men being casually racist in a foreign country. Then, we chat about episodes one and two of Slings and Arrows, our latest TV Book Club.
SHOW NOTES
Better Late Than Never, which is truly terrible: https://www.hulu.com/better-late-than-never
Slings and Arrows episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4OL2DZLL7k
Slings and Arrows episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ctDIGg_9s
We spend a few moments thinking about our TV resolutions for the new year. For Andrew and Kathryn it's mostly about specific TV they'd like to check out; for Margaret it boils down to "actually watch some TV." We then take a look at the field of new TV to look forward to in the new year, and pick out some of our most anticipated series, including Sharp Objects, Good Girls, and the truly concerning 9-1-1. Finally, we announce our next TV Book Club, Slings & Arrows!
This week’s episode is pretty much what it says in the title - we briefly celebrate the unceremonious and thoroughly deserved cancelation of Wisdom of the Crowd, and then we talk about the pleasant surprise that is the first season of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
SHOW NOTES
Wisdom of the Crowd Canceled Amid Jeremy Piven Sexual Assault Scandal: http://tvline.com/2017/11/27/wisdom-of-the-crowd-cancelled-cbs-jeremy-piven-sexual-assault-allegations/
Me, Myself, and I also canceled: http://tvline.com/2017/11/01/me-myself-i-cancelled-cbs-season-1-bobby-moynihan/
Amy Sherman-Palladino talks Mrs. Maisel: http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/amy-sherman-palladino-the-marvelous-mrs-maisel.html
We need Hallmark movies because the world is a cold, uncaring place: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/we-cant-take-any-more-of-2017-so-weve-turned-to-the-hallmark-channel-in-desperation/2017/12/07/1ad3dab6-d6ca-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html
Margaret actually watched some television! She shares that information with us, and we make appropriately impressed noises.
We also think back on the year in TV, and the way 2017 shaped the stuff we watched, the stuff we stopped watching, and the stuff we watched but then completely forgot about. If you have not watched The Good Place, we do not spoil it! But you should really watch it.
This week’s abbreviated holiday week episode is all about characters that TV shows want to make “happen.” Sometimes shows and showrunners have a character or a performer that they want us to love who we just can’t love, and that would be fine if they’d just stop trying so hard.
SHOW NOTES
Kathryn’s recaps of The Crown season two: http://www.vulture.com/tv/the-crown/
Jason Mantzoukas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Mantzoukas
Fred Armisen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Armisen
Fetch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjt9Qx9MBPk
It's holiday time, so we dedicate the entire episode to a close reading of one of Netflix's forays into the wide world of dedicated Christmas programming: the Hallmark Christmas-style movie A Christmas Prince. Strap in for lying! Mothra! Negging! Jellied meats! Birther scandals! Romance! Tokenism! Constitutional crises! And so much more!
This week, Kathryn makes a new round of TV recommendations, just in time for the holiday break. We then check in with the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, available on Netflix in the US.
TV recommendations!
- Northern Exposure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure
- ER: https://www.nbc.com/er?nbc=1
- Chuck: https://www.nbc.com/chuck?nbc=1
- Happy Endings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Endings_(TV_series)
- Silicon Valley: https://www.hbo.com/silicon-valley
- Slings and Arrows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slings_%26_Arrows
- Bob’s Burgers: https://www.fox.com/bobs-burgers/
- GLOW: https://www.netflix.com/title/80114988
- Black-ish: http://abc.go.com/shows/blackish
Watch Alias Grace on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80119411
Then read Kathryn’s piece on the ending: http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/alias-grace-lets-talk-about-the-ending.html
In the ongoing discussion about how we feel when we find out artists are jerks (or worse), we talk about separating the art from the artist. This discussion happened in the context of Louis C.K., but we think you'll find it relevant for all of your most recent #metoo-era feelings. Afterwards, we wrap up Stranger Things 2 and talk about our thoughts on Bob the Brain, the awesomeness of Dustin, and the less awesomeness of episode seven.
This week we talk about Amazon’s attempt to make the next Game of Thrones by revisiting the spring from which Game of Thrones sprang, and the kinds of Tolkien-flavored shows we’d really like to see. Then, one of our listeners and Patreon donors makes Andrew watch the pilot for Cavemen, the super-regressive short-lived mid-2000s sitcom based on the old insurance commercials.
This Thanksgiving, we're grateful for our Patreons, one of whom forced Andrew to watch an episode of Tiny House Hunters and then share that experience with us. It's pretty amazing. We continue along in our Stranger Things 2 book club, and discuss such things as: does Radio Shack still exist? And, why would you keep a baseball bat covered in nails in the trunk of your car?
Finally, stay tuned at the end for some brief yelling about motion smoothing.
This week’s episode is all about the somehow weirdly busy November TV schedule, and then we boost the work of some of our favorite women working behind the camera (and why that’s important).
Surprise! It's a new TV book club! We're returning to the world of Hawkins Indiana to talk about Stranger Things 2, and in this episode we consider the first three episodes of the new season. Before we get there, though, we run through a few personalized TV recommendations that've come in the ATV mailbag lately. For instance: what should you watch with your parents this Thanksgiving?
This week we really lean into the whole dick thing - first, we have an (admittedly couple weeks old) discussion about the ever-widening aftershocks of the Weinstein sexual assault allegations. Then, on a funner note, we talk for like half an hour about how much we love American Vandal.
This week we're continuing our "good fall TV / bad fall TV" voyage with some really, truly, exceptionally bad TV: CBS's Wisdom of the Crowd, a show so bad that it decided the best way to solve crime was to invent a worse version of reddit. Before we get there, though, we take a look at a much more promising new series - The Mayor. Who could've thought a campaign run as a joke would actually be a funny premise in 2017!
This week we jump back into the mailbag to chat about, among other things, queer TV couples and other stuff we missed in previous episodes. Then we say a fond-ish farewell to NBC’s Kings, a one-season wonder that nevertheless lasted way longer than it had any right to.
The big news this week is the launch of our patreon! We would so appreciate your support to help us continue this podcast, and let us keep improving and growing. But just as important is the first installment of our fall TV 2017 good show/bad show selection. As you may have guessed, Me, Myself & I is nota good show, but you'll need to tune in to find out how we feel about the new Trek.
Vulture editor and Kings enthusiast Jackson McHenry joins us this week for a discussion of our favorite one-season TV shows, those poor creative projects that made it to the screen but just couldn't hang. And speaking of, we move on to episodes 7, 8, 9, and 10 of our TV Book Club on NBC's 2009 drama Kings.
After some recent announcements from Amazon on its TV programming future, we talk a little about how it seems to have no idea what it's doing, and why you can't just decide to make the next Game of Thrones and expect that to happen overnight. In more successful TV news, we then chat about a series called The Lowe Files. This essentially involves us just repeating lines from The Lowe Files.
This week we spend some extra time waxing poetic about a show we've only mentioned in passing so far—the long-running Channel 4 home renovation show Grand Designs. After that, we return to the land of Gilboa for our continued tour through NBC one-season wonder Kings, a series that ran for exactly as long as it probably should have.
Outlander is back for its third season - without any spoilers for season three, we get into some of the show's flaws, what works about it, and why we're willing to extend it lots of goodwill even when it's also a bit nonsensical. Inspired by the characters from Outlander, we talk a little about what makes for a good TV couple and some of our favorite examples. Oddly they're all from Michael Schur shows?
This week we kick off with a discussion of the TV costuming that we like, the people who make it happen, and the people who write about it.
We then grant one of Kathryn’s longstanding wishes and start in on our TV Book Club about NBC’s Kings, a weird and fascinating show that never should have existed but somehow, improbably, does.
Because there just is not enough discussion about Game of Thrones in the world already, we talk a little about some of the issues we've had with the show's most recent season, and why it can be frustrating when a fantasy show doesn't have internal logic. We then turn to a show we've been enjoying much more than we expected - Freeform's new series The Bold Type.
This week we attend to our privates and yours with an extended and completely pro bono discussion of the new line of Broad City sex toys. Treat yourself.
We then move on to a significantly less sexy topic: the returning TV shows that we’re most excited about. If neither of these chats get your motor running, I’m not sure what will.
After the deep frustration of watching the Bachelorette finale, we talk about how the franchise failed its first black lead and the particular missteps of the final episode. Given the unpleasantness of that season, and of the direction of the franchise more broadly, we then share ideas for how we'd improve the series.
This week the three of us look at all the brand-new shows that are coming out this fall and pick some winners and losers—show’s we’re excited for (or at least interested in) and shows that seem determined to be as bad as they could possibly be. We’ll be revisiting all of our favorite and least favorite pitches later this fall, so pay attention!
We have a real upper of an episode for you this week. First, we discuss the controversy around the recently announced new HBO project from the creators of Game of Thrones. We are decidedly underwhelmed. In our second topic, we talk about the way television deals with stories about illness, death and grief - frequently not very well, as it turns out!
In honor of our 100th podcast episode, we're spending most of this week's show talking about 100th episodes! It has traditionally been the magic number for syndication, a phenomenon we dig into in depth; we then talk about shows that we would never, ever want to see make it all the way to 100 episodes.
Our final maternity leave episode is the wrap-up for our Please Like Me Book Club, and we talk about the final two episodes of the first season. Geoffrey is a real sports boy, Niamh continues to be the worst, and at the end, things get unexpectedly poignant.
This week we share our final thoughts on season one of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale adaptation, and talk about our hopes and fears for the second season. Then, we dive headlong into the way menstruation is handled on TV - both the better, more incidental/passing references in some recent shows and the exaggerated jokey references in most others.
Here's our second of three episodes on the first season of the Australian comedy Please Like Me! This week we talk about episodes three and four, in which the show gradually reveals its beating heart and Niamh once again proves to be Just The Worst.
After our recording hiatus, we come back to talk about some really gross, disturbing, concerning stuff surrounding this season of Bachelor in Paradise. Heads up - this includes some descriptions of alleged sexual assault. We talk about our collective lack of surprise that this has happened and how this makes us feel about the franchise more broadly. If this discussion is not something you're comfortable listening to (trust us, we get it), please skip ahead to 21:55, where we talk about all the things we've been watching over our break.
For a brief maternity leave hiatus, we're doing a lightning-round TV Book Club - the first season of Australian comedy Please Like Me. In our first episode we talk about episodes one and two, and chat about coming out stories, awkwardness, the comic potential of suicide attempts, and Margaret's fear that she's actually Niamh.
The first part of our conversation this week is about the shows we intend to watch during our recording hiatus, a wide-ranging list of stuff we really should have gotten to by now. Then we talk about socially conscious TV criticism, how it breaks from previous traditions of criticism, and how issues of representation and social justice affect our viewing habits.
Our trek through the stars comes to a conclusion this week, as we chat about the double-length time-hopping series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation. How does series newcomer Margaret feel about this sci-fi touchstone? Does the finale help to make up for the pilot? And how would we rate every character's old age makeup?
This week, we zoom and enhance on how TV uses modern tech to tell good stories (or to do the opposite, as the case may be). Why doesn’t anyone on TV lock their phone with a passcode? What does it say when a character leaves their phone’s sounds on? And are crime shows even trying to get it right?
This week we spend a little more time with Q, everyone’s favorite trickster (Captain Picard notwithstanding). As the series went on, Q was softened and given more dimensions than he had in early appearances, and he was helped along by his chemistry with Patrick Stewart. This will all be good stuff to keep in mind as we warp toward the finale!
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! This week we hit the pause button to do a little navel gazing, getting into some listener questions about how we met and how our show came to be, and then we dive a little deeper into what we like to watch and how.
It's Borg Week on Star Trek TV Bookclub! We skip our usual short segment so that we can cover four episodes of Borg-y goodness, which includes thoughts on why Picard is such a fitting Borg opponent, what exactly is going on with Guinan's hats, and why no one thought to program "this is what a Borg cube looks like" into the Enterprise computer. Margaret and Kathryn also have several thoughts about Picard's wardrobe and physique. Spoiler: they are complimentary thoughts.
This week we start things off by talking about conventions, tropes, and storytelling techniques that get in the way of the action and pull us out of shows we otherwise really like. Then, we chat about what makes Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation unique and effective, even in a field crowded with Peak TV dramas.
We've got four Star Trek TV Book Club episodes to get through this week, so it's All Trek, All the Time. We cover some TNG greatest hits, including the much-lauded episode The Inner Light. We may or may not have some feelings about the costuming choices there. Kathryn has some thoughts about poker.
This week’s show is about endings. Resident professional TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk tells us how she feels about HBO’s Girls wrapping up, and then the three of us discuss the finales that we feel wrap their respective shows up right (and also wrong).
After speculating wildly about the new Amy Sherman-Palladino pilot for Amazon, we watch and discuss the first episode of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and talk about how it (mostly) exceeded our expectations. We then move to a discussion about television we once loved, and then found our affections had soured.
This week we do the briefest of check-ins with the state of TV in Trump’s America—specifically, the post-election cancellation of Reza Aslan’s ABC sitcom about a Muslim-American family.
Then, we jump to warp with week two of our Star Trek: The Next Generation TV Book Club, in which we discuss season 1’s The Big Goodbye, season 2’s Measure of a Man, and season 3’s Yesterday’s Enterprise.
We begin this week with a TV vs TV, in which Margaret and Kathryn go head to head in a debate about the best way to spend your money if you're only going to buy a single standalone streaming service. Many elements are considered, many factors are weighed, and in the end, no one's particularly happy about the decision. (Except the winner). From there we move into a broader discussion of the proliferation of streaming outlets, with a particular focus on CBS All Access and Seeso.
We've got just one thing on our minds this week - Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's our newest TV Book Club, and we'll be watching a series of hand-picked episodes from its seven-year run over the next few weeks to introduce Margaret (and, hopefully, some of you!) to its charms.
Sadly, those charms are largely absent from its sprawling, messy pilot. It's a poorly paced, poorly plotted, and incompetently assembled collection of parts that bears just a superficial resemblance to what the show would later become. But! It's important for continuity reasons, and it'll make it all the more fun in a couple weeks when we start getting into the good stuff.
Did you know that Amy Sherman-Palladino has a pilot for a new series streaming on Amazon? Yeah! We consider the potentially dubious wisdom of that project and imagine how we'd advise Jeff Bezos on its prospects. For our second segment, we consider the brutal onslaught of new TV that'll be appearing over the next several weeks, including new shows like Handmaid's Tale and Feud, and returning series like Catastrophe, Better Call Saul, and Veep.
This week we also promo our next TV Book Club - Star Trek: TNG! We'll be discussing the two-part pilot episode for episode 82, so hop on the bandwagon!
We get started this week with some listener mail that takes issue with our characterization of Kate from This Is Us; we don't AGREE with the listener, but we do take some time to more fully flesh out our talking points from before.
After taking about an extremely unfair and damaging iTunes review, we then spend some time in the Archie-meets-Pretty-Little-Liars world of The CW's Riverdale, a small town about sexy teens, the people who want to have sex with them, and the mysterious murders they commit.
This week we talk about the recent announcement that The Bachelorette has cast its first black lead, and dissect the weird spoilery timing of that announcement. We consider why this is an important milestone for the franchise, and why it's total nonsense that ABC actually be applauded for it.
We also turn to the end of our Fargo TV book club, discussing the final three episodes of the first season. It's hard not to spend the entire segment just jumping up and down and squealing about how great the show is.
First up, an apology: this is a recording of our recent live show at the Free Library in Philadelphia, and unfortunately the audio quality falls far short of our normal standards. We have learned a very important lesson about Having Contingency Plans and Packing Extra Equipment, and we should hopefully be able to avoid a repeat of this in the future.
For those of you who listen, it's still a good show! We talk up beloved 90s TV dog Wishbone, and debate the merits of letting a talking dog re-enact literary classics. Then, guest judge Craig Getting joins us to help us decide which is the best book-to-TV adaptation.
This week, upcoming remakes of both Will and Grace and Queen Eye For The Straight Guy show us that just because you CAN reboot something doesn't necessarily mean that you SHOULD. Then, we revisit the frigid, murderous Midwest for another installment of our TV Book Club segment on season one of FX's Fargo.
After mentioning HBO's The Young Pope in our episode on notable new TV for winter 2017, we return to discuss the depths and breadths of Andrew's distaste for it. Kathryn attempts to provide some cinematic context for the show; some singing is involved. We then pick up with the second installment in our Fargo book club, discussing episodes two through four. Topics include viscera, the purpose of viscera, pure evil vs pure goodness, and locusts.
On this week's show we're joined by Christina Grace of the Unfriendly Black Hotties podcast (@theblackhotties on Twitter) to talk about ex-Vice President Joe Biden's odd turn on SVU earlier this season; it doesn't really make any sense but it's also a reminder of a less bleak time. We also dig way into the surprisingly effective schmaltziness of This Is Us.
Have you ever noticed that people are rarely cold on TV? We did! Well, some of us did, and Andrew has some (reasonable) questions about whether that's even an interesting thing to notice, much less talk about. Regardless, talk about it we do.
We then move onto the inspiration for our cold TV thoughts, the first part of our book club on the FX show Fargo. This week we look at the pilot, and talk about the differences between it and the Coen brothers' film, representations of evil in naturalism, and what it sounds like when you fake an orgasm with a Minnesotan accent.
Inauguration Day looms, so we've devoted a good chunk of this episode to discussing whether you should watch Donald Trump on Friday. It's a spirited discussion, but not a bad one.
We then move to a lighter subject: namely, Netflix's modernized-yet-anachronistic reboot of Norman Lear's One Day at a Time.
A few weeks ago the New York Times published fascinating maps of American TV fandom, and ATV is ON IT. We look at the Upshot's maps of where different TV shows are popular, and talk a little about diversified viewing, why people like American Dad or Family Guy but not both, and what shows people watch in Colorado.
Afterwards we look at shows we're thinking about for 2017, including One Day at a Time, The Young Pope, and The Handmaid's Tale. Andrew, to some podcasters' regret, makes some Borat jokes.
We kick off our first show of 2017 by talking about “hygge,” the Danish concept recently popularized by New York Times thinkpieces but originally popularized by Margaret’s newsletter Two Bossy Dames. Kathryn has an extremely exacting definition of hygge that may or may not wreck it for Andrew and Margaret.
Then, we check in with some of the shows that will be returning in 2017, both those that we examined as part of our fall TV preview and some older favorites with winter and spring premiere dates.
In a not-quite-timely seasonal episode, we talk about our favorite Christmas specials and Andrew and Margaret get into a fight about fictional snowmen. Andrew speaks up for the Rankin and Bass classics, and Kathryn hearkens back to a lost Angela Lansbury treasure.
For our final installment of the Cranford TV Book Club, things with Dr Hotbutt get quite complicated, and we talk about the importance of muslin with a fine, close weave.
As this truly questionable year winds down, the crew talks about the TV shows that they missed the first time around that they’d like to sit down and catch up on during the holiday break.
Then, we talk about some quotes from the head of ABC’s entertainment division. Art so often reflects the age it’s made in, and as we go forward we’ll see TV respond to the reality of Donald Trump’s election in both potentially good and potentially disappointing ways.
This week we kick things off with a discussion of the TBS show Search Party and how great it is and how everyone should watch it.
We then move on to the second part in our TV Book Club on Cranford, covering episodes 2 and 3. Cow pajamas and Loch Lomond sing-a-longs are involved.
This week, we'll lead you into an all-out, no-holds-barred discussion of Netflix's Gilmore Girls revival. Will you follow? Anywhere that we tell you to?
The short version is that Rory is a monster, Lorelai is Lorelai, and Kelly Bishop is a national treasure.
For the first segment this week, we look at two recent depictions of abortion on television on Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Although we think they're both important, we talk about the differences in those stories and the few things we wish one show had done differently. As a part of this conversation, we touch on why it's so vital for TV to tell these kinds of stories, and we also discover that Margaret's not entirely sure about the pronunciation of the word "gallant."
Our second segment is the kick-off for our newest TV Book Club - the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford. Margaret and Kathryn are already way in the tank for this show, but we do our best to restrain ourselves in the discussion of the miniseries' first episode. Andrew still has some reservations, which he expresses partly through fanfiction.
In light of our feelings about the 2016 US presidential election, we work through some of our feelings and have a conversation about how notionally “frivolous” TV and TV criticism are still important, and how they will continue to be important going forward.
Then, we go into some comfort TV shows that you can use to make yourself feel just a little better if you’re feeling as bad as we are. And also: dick jokes??!
As a break between TV book clubs, we turn to a broader topic this week - houses and apartments on TV. We kick things off with a TV vs TV debate between Andrew and Kathryn over the best, most memorable TV house. As per usual, Margaret is forced to make a somewhat arbitrary but ultimately binding decision. There are no take-backs in TV vs TV court.
After the debate, we turn to a bigger discussion of the role of houses on TV. What makes a good one? What makes a TV home distracting? Which is better, Joey and Chandler's apartment, or Monica and Rachel's? Is there a difference between three-cam sitcom houses, and single-cam ones? What about dramas versus comedies?
This week we kick things off by making three of the next great TV shows using a fun tool of the same name from The Ringer. Then, we wrap up our TV Book Club segment on Veep, something that seemed a lot more fun before we had to confront our present political reality.
Speaking of that, this episode was recorded in mid-October when this devastating loss seemed all but impossible. We make jokes to that effect toward the end of the show. They’re hard to listen to now, but we’re leaving them in on the off chance that it helps any of you remember what it was like to feel normal.
For the final installment of our fall Good TV/Bad TV series, we first look at the British show Fleabag, which is now available for streaming on Amazon. Andrew and Margaret have seen all of the short series, and discuss its unusual protagonist, the show's uncanny ability to find emotional depth in minor characters, and the pleasure of identifying yourself inside deeply unappealing characters.
We then turn to different but even less appealing characters for Kathryn's Bad TV selection, the ostensibly real people of Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?. Unfortunately for Andrew, Kathryn and Margaret are too delighted with how terrible this show is to truly commiserate with his misery at being forced to watch it. Still, everyone agrees that it is remarkably terrible television.
This week we open with a chat about the first couple episodes of ABC’s Speechless, a zany family sitcom in which one family member has cerebral palsy. It’s satisfyingly progressive and fresh in a lot of ways (and it’s oddly regressive in a couple of others).
We then move on to the next batch of Veep episodes - our appetite for lusty cussing is as healthy as ever, don’t even worry about it, but it’s not like the show is COMPLETELY perfect.
We return to our fall Good TV/Bad TV series, this week with a look at the not-quite-a-24-reboot Designated Survivor and the not-quite-a-functional-TV-show, CBS's new MacGyver reboot. We talk about Designated Survivor's useful role as a silly security romp, its Obama-era politics, and the importance of acting with and without glasses. We then talk about the pilot Andrew's chosen to inflict on us all, the first episode of the new MacGyver. Spoiler: we are not fans.
We're all about politics this week, both real and fictional. After some chatter about televised debates, we talk about some of our favorite totally-political-but-not-about-politics TV shows. Then, we kick off our newest TV Book Club segment on the first two episodes of the first season of HBO's Veep.
In our continuing coverage of new TV series for fall 2016, we take a closer look at one promising new series, and begin our tour of the three terrible shows that we've selected to force each other to watch. For our promising show, we talk about the first few episodes of NBC's new comedy The Good Place. We take apart the things we like, the things we'd like to see improve, and speculate about the kinds of obstacles The Good Place might face in the future.
Our first Bad TV Choice was selected by Margaret, who's elected to force Kathryn and Andrew to watch the pilot of a new CBS legal procedural, Bull. As anticipated, it is terrible. Much yelling ensues.
This week we take a dive into Donald Glover's Atlanta, a show which is currently running its first season on FX. It's the latest in a vein of odd-yet-deeply-personal comedies, very much in the vein of Louie and Master of None (and you can also see hints of it in shows like FX's Better Things, a Pamela Adlon-Louis CK joint).
From there, we move into fall TV shows that we're excited about—there are some returning champions and some fresh faces. And then each of us picks a pretty-bad-looking fall TV show that we'll be making the others watch and discuss in the coming weeks.
We tackle some tough issues in this week's episode, beginning with a deep mourning for the loss of Mel and Sue from the Great British Bake-Off. We talk about what they mean to that series, the larger upset at the BBC generally, and how tragic it will be if the Bake-Off takes a sharp turn towards the commercial.
Our second segment is in response to a note from a listener, who wrote in to ask about a portion of our live show episode. It's a tricky and important question, and we take some time to try to unpack our relationship with shows like The Bachelor, our "liberal art hazmat suits," and some of the many ways TV inflects issues of class and audience. Kathryn gets a little too mired in current politics, Margaret has a metaphor about buggy whips, and Andrew longs for an alternate universe where rather than the Bachelor, we were all members of a Joe Millionaire Nation.
This week it's all about kids, starting with the TV kids who make us roll the eyes and go "ugh, TV kids" the most.
Then we wrap up our Stranger Things edition of TV Book Club, talking about everything we liked and a handful of things we wish had been handled differently. Here's looking forward to season two!
This week's episode is a recording of our live show at the 2016 Philly Podfest, where we had a fabulous time talking about TV bars inside of Philadelphia's great Tattooed Mom Bar. We unpack the role of bars as "third spaces" on TV. We consider the ways that bars bring together different segments of the population, act as meeting places and entries to civilization, and are good places to watch TV. We talk about our favorite TV bars, and also pick what fictional bar we'd most like to be a real place. For our second topic, we bring in special guest and familiar ATV voice Craig Getting to adjudicate the first ever TV vs TV vs TV. In deference to our live audience, the issue before the TV court is the best variety of live TV audience. Margaret creates a fictional audience member named June to support her argument, Andrew talks about the audience as judges, and Kathryn dispenses trivia about Lucille Ball's mother.
Our friend Kate Racculia joins us this week to talk about why teens and kids are such good detectives, and to weigh in on all things Stranger. We talk about Veronica Mars, Scooby Doo, and Nancy Drew, and we try desperately to stop Andrew from reading Inspector Gadget fanfic out lout. In the third installment of Stranger Things TV Book Club, we go deep on representation in fiction and The Cult of Barb. Margaret admits her love for Hopper, we all swear unending fealty to Dustin, and Kate helps us keep our Curiosity Doors open.
The underwater episode of BoJack Horseman prompts our opening discussion this week, but you'll want to STAY TUNED because AFTERWARD we talk about TV theme songs so much that you'll never want to hear another TV theme song again! Or maybe you will, because TV theme songs are wonderful.
For our first segment, we start out with the intention of discussing the currently airing season of Great British Bake-Off as a follow-up to our previous TV Book Club. We do that, but we also stray through several other topics, including Kathryn's TV hookup and Margaret's TV crushes.
Our second segment is the second installment in the Stranger Things TV Book Club, covering episodes 2-5. While we do eventually get to some deeper discussions about the show's influences, its depiction of gender, and the role of Eleven, we have to dig through some conversational quarries to get there.
On tap for this week: Thorough examination and praise of the boozy antics on ABC's Alec Baldwin-hosted Match Game reboot. Then, a discussion of Auteur TV based on the alleged behind-the-camera turmoil at Netflix's Baz Luhrmann-helmed The Get Down. Also, Margaret is just tipsy enough for it to be funny.
For our first segment this week, we pick apart the new teaser for the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls. Topics include: Amy Schumer's celebrity timeliness, nostalgia, smartphones, teaser editing, and corpse flowers. The bulk of our episode, though, is a look at the first episode of Netflix's Stranger Things, our newest selection for TV Book Club. We talk about its movie influences, its popcorniness, the celebrity persona of Winona Ryder, and Dungeons and Dragons. There is also a moment when Margaret and Kathryn sing Toto, and we'd like to apologize for that.
This week is all about our favorite reality show hobby horse, The Bachelor/ette franchise. This is Andrew's first season watching, and the gang talks about the way their Rose Buddies-inspired fantasy league has affected their viewing.
Then we fire up the ol' TV vs TV cannon to settle that age-old debate: which is actually a better show, The Bachelor or The Bachelorette?
After a bumper crop of responses to our segment on animated TV shows, we talk about some of the comments we received. We highlight a few listener suggestions for other animated shows to check out.
Our big segment this week is a spoiler-filled discussion of Orange is the New Black's fourth season. We talk about some of the controversies surrounding the last handful of episodes, about the difficulty of negotiating OITNB's interest in the Black Lives Matter movement, about TV's troublesome Bury Your Gays trope, and about whether we think the season works as a whole. To no one's surprise, Piper is still a huge bummer.
Nielsen ratings—the things we use to determine how many people watched a given TV show, not reviews of TV shows by families named Nielsen—are still widely used and Netflix just gave us a rare peek at its ratings for the season four premiere of Orange is the New Black, but how useful are they, really?
Then, using OITNB as a springboard, the gang talks about how characters on TV (and TV shows themselves) use references to movies, music, books, and other TV shows. When is it useful character development? When is it lazy writing? When is it just played for laughs? And what current TV shows would your favorite Star Trek characters be REALLY into?
For our first segment this week, we talk about half-hour animated TV shows, and why we don't spend much time talking about them. Andrew, with some assists from Margaret, tries to explain to Kathryn why animated TV shows are worthy watches, particularly shows like Bob's Burgers, Home Movies, Clone High and Venture Brothers.
In light of Kathryn's animated TV reticence, we turn to a consideration of our TV dealmakers and dealbreakers. What things about a TV show will make us tune in, regardless of any other aspect of its production? (For Margaret, is it a costume drama? Then yeah, she's there.) What things about a TV show will make us tune out and never look back? Andrew lets loose some Joss Whedon feelings.
In this week’s show, things start innocently enough. Kathryn and Margaret talk about ESPN’s O.J.: Made in America, which is a documentary that we talk about as a companion piece to the fictionalized American Crime Story about O.J. Simpson that wrapped up earlier this year.
Then, the gang moves on to the final stretch of The Great British Bake-Off, where things rapidly become surprisingly sexual. You’ve been warned.
Summer is upon us, and we talk about some of the summer programming we're most looking forward to watching. Margaret's interested in the new Baz Luhrman show The Get Down, Andrew's thinking about catching up with Mr Robot, and we all wonder why TBS won't let us watch Playing House in some easily accessible streaming place.
Our main discussion this week is about the secondary television market - recaps, post-show discussions, series-specific podcasts, and all forms of immediate TV criticism. We talk about what works and what doesn't, why we like TV criticism, and what kinds of recaps we seek out. Margaret and Kathryn are wistful about the late, lamented Television Without Pity, and Andrew tells us how TV recaps are like a tree.
We revisit several old stomping grounds this week—first it's back to Nashville, which hadn't been revived when we recorded this but has been as we write this. Then, we gush a bit about the latest season of The Americans, which we covered in our last TV Book Club. And finally it's on to our current TV Book Club, the still-charming, pastry-filled world of the Great British Bake-Off.
It's spring, the time when a young man's fancy turns to cancelling television shows that have been underperforming for quite a while, but which had survived until now because no one really understands the current TV paradigm. We run through several of the recent TV cancellations, and discuss whether or not they'll really be missed. After chiding Margaret for being part of the Agent Carter problem, we move on to a discussion of trailers for new network TV series in the fall. Spoiler: some of them are very, very bad.
Kathryn and Margaret attended Vulture's panel on season two of UnREAL, which arrives this month. Then we move on to the next part of our TV Book Club segment on The Great British Bake-Off (or "The Great British Baking Show" to Americans). We are, for better or worse, not quite as nice as the people on the show.
CBS is suggesting that the only way to access its new Star Trek series will be through its streaming service, and we talk about why that seems like a terrible idea. At some point, we'll no longer be willing to sign up for new streaming services whenever they debut, and CBS All Access might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
We then turn to the main task of the day - another TV vs TV lightning round, this time on the topic of procedurals. We pass around the judge's wig to consider such questions as: which is the best procedural premise? Who's the best side character? Do will-they-won't-theys make procedurals better or worse? And thanks to Andrew and Kathryn's deep knowledge of a particular series, TV v TV becomes a Bones-a-palooza.
The gang kicks this week's show off by talking about their favorite reality show tropes—when the shows start making your root for or against certain characters, when people are or aren't there to make friends, and when you know in your bones that someone is about to be sent home.
They then move over to the first episode of the only (easily, legally available in the US) season of The Great British Bake-Off, listed on Netflix as "The Great British Baking Show" even though we refuse to refer to it by its legally mandated name. Needless to say, we are completely done in by its charm, even if some of the contestants give us the weirds.
After an impressively great second season, we talk about what makes CW's zombie procedural mystery iZombie so much fun. Shows that meld procedural beats with long arc stories over the course of a season are so hard to pull off well, so we talk about what makes iZombie work, and how strong its season finale was.
We jump from there to a discussion of the delightful food prep montages on iZombie, and then broaden our consideration of how TV depicts food. Margaret brings up Hannibal, Andrew talks about Bob's Burgers, and Kathryn raises her fists in fury at yet another dumb House of Cards food scene. In an attempt to find a baseline for what we consider to be "good" and "bad" food, Andrew asks us to name our worst meals. Kathryn's is pretty troubling.
This week we dive into the real-world Sorting Hat that is the Myers-Briggs personality test, where we find out what personality traits we share and which we don't (spoilers: Margaret and Kathryn are polar opposites).
Then we dive into the second season of Tiny Fey and Robert Carlock's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a sophomore season that starts weak but picks up steam as it chugs along. Tina Fey isn't always the best at taking criticism, but damn can she deliver a funny one-liner.
Thanks to a question from a listener, Andrew, Margaret and Kathryn revisit the idea of rewatches and try to take apart exactly what draws us to rewatching certain series, episodes, and scenes. We think about Mad Men, Outlander, Veronica Mars, and the pleasures of doing research on the shows we love.
Next, inspired by our Americans book club, we consider historical television series, and think about the differences between historical miniseries and open-ended historical series. We talk about Outlander, Wolf Hall, Downton Abbey, John Adams, The Hour, and more. What is the difference between a miniseries and a series in this instance? How are television shows influenced by their source material? Aren't all histories false narratives we impose on events to make ourselves feel good? And also - Margaret makes a near-fatal error.
Big episode this week! First off, Andrew is continuing his #Winestunts odyssey from last week, which as Kathryn pointed out was something that he chose to inflict upon himself. It results in a lot of love.
While that continues, the crew introduces a new segment in which they sort their favorite TV characters into their probable Hogwarts houses, starting with perennial favorite Jane the Virgin. And we come to the thrilling, wig-tastic conclusion to the first season of FX's The Americans. Enjoy!
In response to all of the lovely reviews and apology requests we've received, we do a tour through some listener apologies, and Andrew makes a bid for even more apologies by voicing some thoughts about Firefly. In our long segment this week, we talk about what happens to a television show when a TV love interest alienates viewers. We consider Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars, as well as Sex and the City, Friends, and more. Are all male-centered love triangles dramas, while female-centered ones are comedies?
While we discuss this, Andrew makes good on his promise to procure and consume an entire bottle of Tituss Burgess's Kimmy Schmidt-inspired wine, Pinot by Tituss. #WineStunts ensue.
Lots of genre shows have a character who isn't in on the central secret - not because they're dumb, usually, but because of contrivances that serve the plot. We've dubbed this archetype "The Babineaux" in honor of one of our favorite recent examples.
After that, we talk out the next leg of our TV Book Club discussion of FX's The Americans. The tension amps up in this run of episodes, and episode nine in particular begins a steady escalation that will carry us all the way to the finale.
Special guest Sophie Brookover joins us this week to help us talk everything out! You can read more of her and Margaret's work in the weekly Two Bossy Dames newsletter, which you can find at www.tinyletter.com/twobossydames.
Once again we return to our Hatewatch segment, which this week, we're calling Hatewatch of Cards. Kathryn talks about House of Cards' most recent season and one particular meal prepared by Claire Underwood. We also kick off our Apology Tour with an apology that's been a long time coming.
For our long segment, we consider Mo Ryan's recent Variety piece on the dominance of television comedies, and talk about whether comedy is ascendant on TV today, and why. We breeze through a long list of amazing comedy on TV right now, talk about TV drama's over-reliance on sad white men, and think about whether comedy ages better than drama.
This week we all learn more about each other and ourselves by talking about all the kids' TV we watched as kids. Some of those relationships were healthier than others.
Then, we move on to a still-entertaining but much bleaker subject: episodes two through five of the first season of FX's The Americans.
Inspired by a recent article by Sydney Ember about the changing role of advertisements on network TV, we consider the problems of the network TV ad model more broadly. Should there be sponsored segments? Should there be native advertisement? Should shows just run longer to cram more marketing goodness in? We then look at the spate of current and upcoming TV offerings. Andrew complains about Game of Thrones, Kathryn recommends Outlander, and Margaret reveals some surprising information about Jackie Chan.
Today's APB is all about wine, specifically viewed through the lens of Matthew Goode and Matthew Rhys' thoroughly charming-looking Wine Show and a certain actor's new line of pinot noir.
This week, Margaret lays out in detail JUST how frustrated she is with "the one piece of the Shondaverse [she] still engage[s] with on a weekly basis," which is just as vitriolic and frustrated as you'd expect.
After that, we launch into our next TV Book Club selection, the pilot of FX's The Americans. Spies are more fun than lawyers, at least in this episode.
This week, we start things off by dipping into our mailbag to talk about your excellent Gilmore Girls podcast comments, and we brag about our amazing, personalized line of ATV cocktails. Then we turn to the big event: an epic, TV vs TV sitcom-themed battle, in which we pass around the white powdered judge’s wig to adjudicate some of the most vital sitcom debates of our time. Which is the best sitcom theme song? Who is the worst Kramer? And why does Margaret apologize to the guy from the B-52s?
We kick things off this week by talking about the three weird tricks that TV shows employ to write pregnant actors into their shows, whether they're working it into the plot, hiding it, or otherwise.
Then we wrap up the Bunheads epoch of our TV Book Club segment. We mourn a show that was cut down in its prime, simultaneously praise and puzzle over its perhaps-fatal quirks, and like ranch chips.
It’s the height of awards season, and inspired by Ricky Gervais’s performance at the 2016 Golden Globes, we have a discussion about watching awards shows. We consider the distasteful parts of following celebrity culture, and Kathryn and Margaret try to convince Andrew that celebrity gossip isn’t just dumb fluff. We have a wide-ranging discussion about the social usefulness of celebrities, and return to the way awards shows give us a stage to work out Big Issues. Finally, we turn to this year’s Golden Globes to ask, "Ricky Gervais - what happened to you?”
We introduce a special new feature, the ATV Bulletin, where we address important news of the day (or, you know, news of the last couple of days). In this short episode, we discuss the recent announcement that Sutton Foster will appear on the Netflix revival series of Gilmore Girls. In addition, Margaret brings us an extremely important question to consider: which citizens of Stars Hollow would have a podcast, and what would that podcast be about?
This week, Kathryn's sister Laura joins the gang to help talk us through life as a teenage ballerina. It turns out Amy Sherman-Palladino's Bunheads gets a lot of the details right, even if the dances are a bit too polished for this age and skill level.
Bunheads really finds its feet in this run of episodes—in between singing its praises, we also talk about how we approach shows that have been recommended to us by others. Do we actually watch them, and how do those recommendations change our viewing experience?
In honor of the Super Bowl this week, we have a wide-ranging discussion about sports and television, featuring returning guest and Overdue podcast brother Craig Getting. We talk about all the ways that sports fandom can be troubling, and all the things that make sports such compelling televisual entertainment. Highlights include: our personal sports narratives, Margaret’s description of cultural sports fandom, what it’s like to follow athletic careers like soap operas, and eventually we actually let Craig talk about football.
This week, Andrew shares with the group his continuing love of Masterchef Junior, which leads to a mini-celebration of that rare animal, the Non-Cynical Competition Reality Show.
After that it’s back to the TV Book Club mines for episodes 4-8 of the Freeform (nee ABC Family) one-season wonder Bunheads. Does the show get past its rough opening episodes? So all the teenagers start to feel like fully realized characters? Is “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” originally a They Might Be Giants song? We answer all these questions and more!
Margaret, Kathryn and Andrew answer a listener mailbag question and discuss all the many nuances of when it is and is not okay to talk while watching television. Andrew reveals a rule in his house about what you’re allowed to say while watching Game of Thrones, and Margaret discusses the tricky ins and outs of being a veteran watching with a newbie. They then turn to the main topic: whether streaming television is a new genre and how binge-watching changes our opinions of shows. This topic is spurred on by Alan Sepinwall’s interview with Transparent creator Jill Soloway, James Ponewozik’s piece Steaming TV Isn’t Just A New Way to Watch, It’s a New Genre, and Willa Paskin’s discussion of binge-watching Master of None.
To help kick off 2016, we talk about our TV-related resolutions. For Andrew, it's to watch more of the shows Kathryn and Margaret have recommended to him; for Margaret, it's to be more like Andrew.
Then we move on to our TV Book Club discussion of the one-season wonder Bunheads, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame. It's a rough start to the series - the setup is awkward and the first few episodes are consumed with making it work. But rest assured, it gets better.
We kick off the episode with the brief return of our Bashville segment, in which Margaret (surprisingly!) praises a recent change on the ABC series Nashville. Next, we turn to our primary discussion of the week, a concept we call High Wire TV. We define this idea in a few different ways, and consider the broader pitfalls and possibilities of TV that tries to do everything all at once. Andrew talks about Game of Thrones, Kathryn praises Jane the Virgin, and Margaret brings up How to Get Away with Murder and the broader Shonda-verse. All of this feeds into Kathryn's growing realization that she has way too many thoughts on this topic, and we end with an introduction of our new TV Club series, the ABC Family show Bunheads.
In this week’s ATV, we discuss the new Netflix Christmas special, A Very Murray Christmas, and the inherent flaws in a celebrity Christmas special built around a depressive, alcoholic character who’s not great at singing. We also talk about the Christmas special as a genre and touch on some of our favorites, including A Colbert Christmas, the Rankin and Bass classics, Charlie Brown, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
We then inaugurate It’s a Wonderful Life as a retroactively official TV Christmas special, and move on to discuss some of the emotionally fraught aspects of the holiday. Margaret and Andrew were gift receiving monsters at one point, Kathryn cried at the wrong part of Bridge to Terabithia, and we make some space for those of us who are just trying to muddle through somehow.
Special guest host Craig Getting of Overdue fame joins us this week for a discussion of game shows, those reliable workhorses of the daytime-and-early-evening TV landscape. We talk the hosts and formats we like, and the ones we think we would do the best on.
Craig also tells us about his (sometimes faulty) strategies for solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles, and the time he was robbed of the chance to be on the show.
This week we discuss The CW’s new series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Margaret is a fan, and Kathryn and Andrew have some reservations. Margaret tries to assuage their fears by discussing the show's strengths, and Andrew admits he has liiiiitle a crush on Rachel Bloom. Kathryn’s generally weary of television’s depictions of women as “crazy,” but she’s willing to give the show more time.
Then we move on to a slightly unfortunate TV vs TV, in which Kathryn and Margaret have a misunderstanding about the nature of the debate before finally settling on TV series most damaged by their jokey ironic titles. Margaret argues for the cut-down-in-its-prime one season series Trophy Wife, while Kathryn chides Andrew for his complete disinterest in a good show just because it's called Cougar Town.
On this week's episode, we dig into the recent Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Star Trek reboot announcements and share our deepest hopes and fears. We also share the shows we'd actually like to be see remade, though the list of properties that are ripe for a reboot that aren't already being rebooted is getting short.
Next, we move on to a midseason checkup on some of the shows we mentioned in our overview of Fall TV. For Margaret, it's Supergirl, which is well-intentioned even if it's sometimes a little too on the nose. For Andrew, it's The Muppets, which is still frustratingly milquetoast. And Kathryn has unexpectedly found herself drawn to the TV continuation of the film Limitless, something that spawns a limitless number of jokes.
It's Thanksgiving, and we're here to discuss the beloved holiday tradition of the Thanksgiving-themed TV episodes. Kathryn loves them, Andrew is dubious, and Margaret is a happy medium. Kathryn goes long on the relationship between bottle episodes and the Thanksgiving structure, and we discuss Friends, The West Wing, and Bob's Burgers among other holiday classics.
This week we have kick things off with a discussion of the comedian-driven sitcom, inspired by Aziz Ansari's Netflix original series Master of None and Louis CK's excellent FX show Louie. You really should watch both of them.
After that, we wrap up our TV Book Club series on the first season of Black Mirror, a show that we ultimately didn't like as much as some people do. The last installment, "The Entire History of You," takes an interesting premise and squanders it on a tired old story while asking us to sympathize with a questionable dude in the process. No thanks?
We open our episode this week with a discussion about the earliest shows we can remember watching even thought we either hated them or hated ourselves for watching them. Andrew has an ongoing love/hate relationship with The Simpsons, Margaret remembers a specific season of Must See TV with stunning clarity, and Kathryn has fallen back into a dangerous Tyra-themed habit.
Andrew and Kathryn then turn to a TV vs TV debate about the best television to watch when you're in a nondescript, underwhelming hotel room. For Kathryn, it's all about the magic of HGTV, while Andrew argues for anything that involves a mystery box of ingredients or Gordon Ramsay. Judge Margaret's wisdom prevails.
We kick things off this week with a discussion of the Bechdel Test and its strengths and weaknesses as a method of evaluating the kinds of shows we talk about. It's useful sometimes, just not always.
Then we launch right into our next installment of TV Book Club, this time about the second episode of Black Mirror. This episode included a more fully realized sci-fi dystopia, but its treatment of its female characters is more than a little problematic. It also kind of borrows its main point from the movie Network.
Join us for our Spooky Halloween Spectacular! Margaret, Kathryn and Andrew discuss what TV-themed costumes they would create if they had all the time and money in the world. Margaret has a brilliant costume, Andrew's costume choices require some very specific facial hair, and Kathryn reveals that she is truly terrible at coming up with costume ideas.
Kathryn then returns to her controversial judicial podium to decide between Margaret and Andrew's compelling arguments for best TV Halloween episode. It's a very spooky nail-biter.
This week’s show sees the return of Hatewatch Watch, here renamed “Bashville” because of all the hate that Margaret has to aim at ABC’s Nashville.
We then move on to the newest installment in our TV Book Club series, the first episode of Black Mirror. It is, how you say, not what we were expecting. Andrew also explains the art of faking an orgasm, which you should be able to use if you ever find yourself in a Black Mirror-esque situation.
This week, we talk about sitcoms and social issues as Kathryn makes Andrew and Margaret watch The Carmichael Show and they wonder what the heck she was thinking. Once we're all on the same page, Kathryn discusses the way The Carmichael Show reminds her of Norman Lear's All in the Family, and we talk about the importance of having TV shows on the air that we don't necessarily like.
We then turn to a show Kathryn bets you did not know existed: ABC Family's Monica the Medium. Andrew reveals that he has witnessed a medium reading, Kathryn recommends a ghost-hunting realtor, and we agree that Margaret would make a great medium.
This week we continue our examination of fall TV by jumping into the first two episodes of ABC's The Muppets. Our verdict is mixed but mostly negative, and we share our concerns about the show's tone and format.
We move on to a mailbag about Kathryn's controversial ruling last week, and then close out with a talk about TV tropes and why it's not always bad when they work out.
We're also trying a new experiment: for the next few weeks we're going to try posting slightly shorter shows every week rather than one long show every two weeks. If it goes well for us (and you!) we'd like to keep doing it, so let us know what you think.
(Apologies for Andrew's audio this week, there was a mic problem that clears up about a third of the way in.)
Kathryn moderates a debate between Andrew and Margaret about TV's best, primarily non-sexual female friendships—Kathryn must choose between Abby and Ilana from Comedy Central's Broad City or Emma and Maggie from USA's Playing House.
Then, Andrew tells everyone about a gem of a show from former professional wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the show bids a fond farewell to Terriers, and we make our next TV Book Club announcement.
Andrew, Margaret and Kathryn add on to the pile of fall TV previews with a rundown of new series they're excited about, new series they just don't quite get, and returning shows they're looking forward to seeing again. After a brief dip into the mailbag, TV Bookclub returns with a discussion of episodes eight, nine and ten of the much mourned one season wonder, Terriers.
Last week Margaret and Kathryn argued about the best summer reality TV show; this week, we sadly wave goodbye to summer with a discussion about TV seasonality and whether it is fading away. Andrew and Kathryn share their TV-trawling discoveries with a brief chat about Airplane Repo and Bait Car, and then we all return to TV Bookclub to talk about episodes five, six and seven of Terriers.
Ah, summer, the time when TV usually takes a break from trying too hard. In this week's TV vs. TV segment, Margaret and Kathryn try to convince Andrew of the value of two experimental, off-the-wall summer reality shows: Whodunit, or For Love or Money.
After letting Kathryn talk about how awful Celebrity Family Feud is, we then move on to the second, third, and fourth episodes of Terriers, that FX buddy cop show with the dumb name that was cancelled before its time.
In episode two of Appointment Television, we tackle the art of the TV rewatch. Why do we do it? What do we watch? How do we feel about these shows and these characters the second or third time around?
In the second half of the episode we call the first meeting of the TV Book Club - this week, we talk about the pilot of Terriers, a one-season wonder from FX. It's got a bad name, but it's a diamond in the rough among buddy cop shows. We'll be watching episodes two through four for our next show, so you definitely have time to catch up!
Welcome, friends, to Appointment Television!
The first subject we tackle in this, our inaugural episode, are the mechanics of “behind-the-scenes” TV shows. These are the shows that attempt to show you the way something works—maybe it’s a radio station! Maybe it’s the White House! Maybe it’s a sketch comedy series! In any case, these shows use their real-world settings to drive stories that may or may not become increasingly detached from those same settings.
Our second segment this week is a little something we like to call “TV vs. TV.” These are debates where two of your hosts present an argument to the third host, who then uses her or his infinite wisdom to determine a winner. This week, Andrew and Kathryn let Margaret settle that age-old question: which Star Trek series is best, The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine?