Welcome to our list of the best TV show pilots of all time. Pilots are the episodes that hook us. Some shows have gone on to be wildly successful with lousy pilots. Some shows have failed despite terrific pilots. And then some shows launch with a killer pilot and go on to be a successful …
Last month David Fincher’s Gone Girl made a smash at the box office. As if plugged directly into the Zeitgeist, it seemed as if everyone had a take on the film’s views on gender, the media and marriage. Gone Girl was a sensation that turned the camera inward, revealing our discomfort with the institution of …
UPDATE: In response to the firestorm of news that came out of the Vox article, David Chase responded to Vulture via a publicist: “A journalist for Vox misconstrued what David Chase said in their interview. To simply quote David as saying,” Tony Soprano is not dead,” is inaccurate. There is a much larger context for that …
The Wolf of Wall Street Written by Terence Winter Directed by Martin Scorsese USA, 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio is a year away from 40, though he still retains the same boyish air and enthusiasm that marked him from Titanic onward. But over the intervening 16 years, he’s thinned down enough that he has a leaner, tighter, …
I don’t remember when I’d first heard about the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Y/A sci fi novel, Ender’s Game – a few weeks ago, a few months – but despite all the talk about the book being some sort of cult fave which has sold millions since it’d first been published in 1985, …
James Gandolfini died yesterday of an apparent heart attack, and in the short space of time since his passing, enough has been said about this intimidating-looking actor many called, in reality, “a gentle giant,” that there’s little I can add without seeming lamely repetitive. Parts large and small, before The Sopranos and after, will always …
Mad Men, Season 6, Episode 9: “The Better Half” Written by Erin Levy and Matthew Weiner Directed by Phil Abraham Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC Peggy Olson is undoubtedly a feminist—arguably the most feminist character on the show, but she isn’t emblematic of the politicized second-wave feminism we associate with the term. She’s …
When starting a new television show, the thing I look forward to the most is the title sequence, so it only felt right to devise this list when I heard the theme was favourite television shows this month. In early television there wasn’t a huge focus on title sequences; their only purpose was to present the …
It’s Valentine’s Day and, for many, that means date night. In this economy, however, a night on the town can be prohibitive. What’s a TV lover to do? Perhaps this is an acceptable alternative? A quiet night in, with a nice, homemade dinner, a few drinks, and a few hours with the perfect show. Here …
Throughout the month of December, TV Editor Kate Kulzick and Film Editor Ricky D will review classic Christmas adaptions, posting a total of 13 each, one a day, until the 25th of December. The catch: They will swap roles as Rick will take on reviews of classic television Christmas specials and Kate will take on …