Television – Excerpted

“The sessions are extraordinary for the rare glimpses they provide of unscripted conversations at the White House on critical issues”

14 March 201813 March 2018 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

The chief executive sits at a long wooden table, putting his invited guests on the spot to defend their positions, occasionally needling them with biting comments, often shocking them with blunt talk — all for[…]

“The ’90s was the decade…in which conspiracism…became a form of kitschy entertainment”

3 January 201731 December 2016 Drew KaplanTelevision

The ’90s was the decade of Oliver Stone’s “J.F.K.,” “The X-Files” and late-night Roswell documentaries — the decade in which conspiracism, safely removed from the exigencies of the Cold War and domestic upheaval, became a[…]

“The tone-setting awkward sex scene has become a staple of the modern television series opener”

25 November 201617 November 2016 Drew KaplanSex

Perhaps you’ve seen the new TV series whose pilot episode begins this way: A man and a woman are having sex, but something soon goes awry, and the whole production wraps up on an ungainly,[…]

“Superhero team-building is a venerable comic-book practice, one that flourished in the ’60s and ’70s…more or less contemporaneously with the first voyages of the Starship Enterprise”

4 September 201630 August 2016 Drew KaplanEntertainment

Nothing in popular culture, or in consumer capitalism, is ever really new. Superhero team-building is a venerable comic-book practice, one that flourished in the ’60s and ’70s — with the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic[…]

“There’s room for both kinds of shows, but as ‘Cosby’ recedes from reruns, ‘Roc’ seems especially worthy of reconsideration”

18 August 201615 August 2016 Drew KaplanTelevision

…looking back at “Roc,” I find it interesting to consider that before his acting career, Charles S. Dutton did almost a decade in prison for manslaughter and weapons possession, crimes he has discussed openly. Today,[…]

“As a reality TV professional, I would be lucky to strike gold like Donald Trump once or twice in a career”

25 October 201522 October 2015 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

I’ve been working in reality television for 10 years, and I can tell you that Mr. Trump is exactly what we look for in our casting process. He’s uncomplicated and authentic: You can understand his[…]

“Donald Trump is the presidential candidate that reality TV made”

22 October 201522 October 2015 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

Donald Trump is the presidential candidate that reality TV made. An electorate trained in voting contestants on and off shows like “American Idol” wants to keep him around because he makes things interesting. Instead of[…]

“The humor and pathos of “Louie” come not only from the occasional funny feelings that he has about his privileges…but also, more profoundly, from his knowledge that the conceptual and imaginative foundations of those privileges have crumbled beneath him”

22 December 201422 December 2014 Drew KaplanTelevision

The humor and pathos of “Louie” come not only from the occasional funny feelings that he has about his privileges — which include walking through the city in relative safety and the expectation of sleeping[…]

“The catalyst for pro football’s breakthrough in the latter half of the 1950s and 1960s was the new medium of television”

30 November 2014 Drew KaplanFootball

The catalyst for pro football’s breakthrough in the latter half of the 1950s and 1960s was the new medium of television. The sport’s flow of play could be followed even on a grainy black-and-white screen,[…]

“…’The Sopranos’ and ‘Mad Men’ heralded the end of male authority; we’ve also witnessed the erosion of traditional adulthood in any form…”

26 October 201423 October 2014 Drew KaplanTelevision

Not only have shows like “The Sopranos” and “Mad Men” heralded the end of male authority; we’ve also witnessed the erosion of traditional adulthood in any form, at least as it used to be portrayed[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Category: Television

“The sessions are extraordinary for the rare glimpses they provide of unscripted conversations at the White House on critical issues”

“The ’90s was the decade…in which conspiracism…became a form of kitschy entertainment”

“The tone-setting awkward sex scene has become a staple of the modern television series opener”

“Superhero team-building is a venerable comic-book practice, one that flourished in the ’60s and ’70s…more or less contemporaneously with the first voyages of the Starship Enterprise”

“There’s room for both kinds of shows, but as ‘Cosby’ recedes from reruns, ‘Roc’ seems especially worthy of reconsideration”

“As a reality TV professional, I would be lucky to strike gold like Donald Trump once or twice in a career”

“Donald Trump is the presidential candidate that reality TV made”

“The humor and pathos of “Louie” come not only from the occasional funny feelings that he has about his privileges…but also, more profoundly, from his knowledge that the conceptual and imaginative foundations of those privileges have crumbled beneath him”

“The catalyst for pro football’s breakthrough in the latter half of the 1950s and 1960s was the new medium of television”

“…’The Sopranos’ and ‘Mad Men’ heralded the end of male authority; we’ve also witnessed the erosion of traditional adulthood in any form…”