I have largely turned off comments since most of them being made are for older articles and are largely spam. Since I get an e-mail every time someone makes a comment, it was starting to become an annoyance.
The domain name will likely expire soon. I might repay the domain fee renewal but I need every dollar I have right now as I move into my own apartment and look for a paying gig. If I don't, you can check out the archives of this blog at:
thetvlair.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Friday, October 4, 2013
The End of the Lair
When I
started Television Lair, I wanted to explore why I liked the shows
that I watched. I wanted to know what drew me towards Castle, Fringe,
Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, etc. and why I didn't want to watch
other shows. Obviously, an entertainment factor was in play but what
went into creating that factor was always an intriguing concept. I
had also become an avid reader of the AV Club. It's their standard of
high-quality analysis that I have always aspired for. There was also
an early attempt to create a community and also turn the blog into a
television business analysis blog. The first failed as I didn't have
a readership to create a community around. That was my fault. The
second largely fell to the wayside. It's entirely possible that I
might actually start doing that on a semi-regular basis because I
think television business is just as interesting as programming. As
it stands, I have no plans of actually doing that so I wouldn't
expect anything.
When I
first started the blog, the reviews weren't as long as they are now.
They also weren't as good. At the same time, they were barely time
consuming. I could knock out most reviews in an under an hour. As
time went on, I improved the quality of my writing. As the quality
picked up, I started to make them longer. What used to take me less
than an hour now took at least three hours per review. The blog has
become a bigger commitment that demands more and more time. This
would be fine if I was getting paid, if people were reading the
actual reviews, and/or if I was still motivated to do this. The first
hasn't become true. There are ads (aimed at covering the cost of the
domain) but I haven't made enough money to actually get a check. It's
possible I do have a couple loyal audience but most of my reviews
hover around 10 page views. As for motivation, I've got admit that I
rarely actually want to write a review. It's become such a
time-consuming hobby that leaves me with very little time to do
anything else and it's also become stressful.
All of
these factors kept me plugging along because having a blog looks good
on my resume. Nobody might be reading it but at least I could claim I
was doing it. It's a claim that I can now use: I ran this blog for
two years. Alas, I must shut it down. Why? I have five reasons. The
first is that I have fulfilled the purpose of the blog. I believe I
have a greater understanding of what makes a show entertaining and
good. The second is that college is requiring more and more time.
When I first started this blog, I was a sophomore. The little time
commitment it took per review and the less homework I had made doing
this blog feasible. Now, I'm spending more time doing college work
while this blog demands I spend more time doing it. I just don't have
time for Television Lair anymore. The third reason is that I don't
want to do it anymore. I don't think I need to justify that. The
fourth reason is that practically nobody reads. This didn't used to
bother me but it's kind of like I'm wasting my time on something I
don't want to do anymore for nobody's benefit. The fifth, and final
reason, is that I want to dedicate my free time doing other things.
As I noted, I might revive this blog with a different focus on doing
semi-regular business analysis. I might work on screenplays and/or
other writings. Basically, it's to open up my time for something I am
interested in doing.
I had
always planned on ending this blog in May. I was dedicated to doing
that but then I realized something: I'm a week behind. I'm going to
be a week behind for as long as I have to spend my time on college
work. This is going to turn the blog into a bigger stress than it
needs to be-considering nobody reads it. I've considered dropping the
amount of reviews I do weekly but...it's still going to be a major
time commitment. So I'm doing the most sensible thing:
I'm closing
the blog right now. I'll keep paying for the domain name and keep the
reviews up. You can always read this for history's sake. I might, as
I said, convert this blog to doing business analysis. As of now, I'm
doing doing reviews. I'm not going to catch up: The Michael J. Fox
Show is the final review. If you have any questions of what I think
about any news shows/episodes, drop a comment at any time.
It has been
a great adventure. I liked this doing for the longest time...and I
hate quitting earlier than I expected. At the same time, I must admit
that the time for reviewing shows has passed.
The
Television Lair is now abandoned.
Parenthood Season Four
Parenthood
Season 4
2012-2013 Season
- Family Portrait
- Left Field
- Everything is Okay
- The Talk
- There's Something I Need to Tell You
- I'll Be Right Here
- Together
- One More Weekend with You
- You Can't Always Get What You Want
- Trouble in Candyland
- What to My Wondering Eyes
- Keep on Rowing
- Small Victories
- One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
- Because You're My Sister
The Michael J. Fox Show
The Michael J. Fox Show
Episode 1: Pilot
Episode 2: Neighbor
By: Carlos Uribe
The Michael
J. Fox Show is a series about a news anchor with Parkinson’s
disease that goes back to work. It is partially based on Michael J.
Fox's real life. I will be covering this show weekly.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
The Michael J. Fox Show has a slightly interesting history. Michael
J. Fox is a popular television star who became a household name due
to his role as young Republican Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties. He
became a film star with the classic Back to the Future trilogy and
Casualties of War. He would later star in Spin City until he was
forced to semi-retire from acting due to his health. He was diagnosed
with Parkinson's disease and the symptoms got too severe for him to
continue to work on a daily basis. He's managed to make a come-back
by having all of his characters written with Parkinson's in mind. The
peacock network is in desperate need of a comedy hit. The Office is
now gone and it's largely cleaned it's comedy slate. The only series
to survive, Parks and Recreation, has always been a critical darling
but it's never been able to attract a large audience. It makes sense
that the network would look at one of their former stars and hope
that he still has a large enough following to launch a new comedy. He
was interested in starring in a comedy again so they ordered the
project straight to series with a twenty-two episode order. This
risky move meant bypassing the pilot season which means the network
had very limited quality control. If the pilot was a disaster, the
network couldn't forever hold it back. They would have a very limited
time to retool it. The episode order is an even bigger risk.
Twenty-two episodes is a large order. If the series fails to attract
an audience, the network is on the hook for the whole season unless
it goes back on it's word. NBC sees The Michael J. Fox Show as the
potential messiah but these first two episodes should serve as yet
another warning of why skipping the pilot season is rarely worth it.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Revolution
Revolution
Episode 1: Born in the U.S.A.
By: Carlos Uribe
Revolution is
a show set in a world where electricity has died.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
Revolution
had a troubled first season. There were some decent installments in
there but it was mostly a season filled with weak characters, forced
relationships, and a nonsensical plot that ultimately ended in
frustration. The potential that the premise could have had was
largely lost as the production dropped swords in favor of guns. The
concentration on turning the power on gave the writers some focus but
it ultimately backfired as it consumed the show. It also had the
unfortunate side-effect of actually causing people to root for them
to succeed which would undermine the whole premise of the show. The
last thing any writer is going to want is to root for the show to
effectively end. The finale was so frustrating that it ultimately
hurt my view of the series as a whole. The twist at the end was so
confounding that it actually made me less excited for the second
season of Revolution. It was such a terrible piece of television that
it also made me completely give up on Revolution. Lucky for the show,
I decided I might as well stick around because I like the genre, I'm
a fan of Giancarlo Esposito, and because it was still decently
entertaining. It helps that I don't really like giving up on shows
since it means the investment I had put into earlier episodes was
wasted. I like to think of myself as a very loyal viewer. Obviously,
there are shows I do end up giving up on (2 Broke Girls comes to
mind) but I try to make them as rare as possible. So this is the way
I entered the second season: disillusioned with the series,
distrustful of the writers, but hopeful that the series can somehow
pull itself together. Even if it can't, at least I can expect to be
entertained. It's an odd relationship with the series but it's an
important one to make note of because it's how I approach it and
therefore the reviews. So I'm happy to report that I'm cautiously
optimistic about this second season.
Nashville
Nashville
Episode 1: I Fall to Pieces
Season Two
By: Carlos Uribe
Nashville is
a series about the country music scene and the political scene of
Nashville.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
Nashville is
by all intents and purposes an interesting series to think about.
It's a show that has surprisingly good country music, it's embraced
it's soap opera nature, and it has some of the best performances on
broadcast television. It's managed to pick up it's narrative speed so
things actually seem like they're happening. At the same time, it's
almost impossible to actually get excited about this show. I don't
think I've ever gone in my head “I can't wait until Nashville comes
on the air.” I dropped this series from the review roster after the
thirteenth episode because it simply wasn't a fun series to review on
a weekly basis. I tried sticking with it as a normal viewer but I
didn't want to put in the effort to keep up with it. It really wasn't
until a few weeks ago that I went on Hulu and finished the first
season. I mean, I know this show has good enough writing and acting
that I should be watching it but...it's hard to motivate myself to
actually do it. The first season ended on a cliff-hanger that didn't
really work. The car crash felt more like a mid-season cliff-hanger
than a season finale cliff-hanger. The marriage proposal was between
two characters I could care less about. It really didn't make me want
to watch the second season premiere at all. The only reason I saw it
was because I wanted to check in on the show for the blog and because
I have a television where I can watch live broadcasts. It was on
after Modern Family so it didn't require any effort from me to tune
in. I'm sure if that wasn't the case then I wouldn't have bothered
tuning in. It's not a decision I would have regretted it. I have no
real interest in continuing to watch Nashville and this premiere
didn't really give me any reason to do so. This is because Nashville
has a lot going for it but it can't help but be one thing: immensely
boring. Why is that?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Modern Family
Modern Family
Episode 1: Suddenly Last Summer
Episode 2: First Days
By: Carlos Uribe
Modern Family
is about a traditional nuclear family, a multi-generational family,
and a gay family.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
Modern Family begins a one-hour premiere. There are two episodes that
aren't really related but they both open the season.
The first episode takes place over the summer. A significant portion
of the episode concentrates on most of the characters trying to get
rid of their kids. It sounds awful but they are hoping for some kind
of break. For Phil and Claire, it's to have a kid-free week. For Jay,
it's to avoid being bombarded with Gloria's Colombian family. It
makes sense although the latter is largely playing on racial
stereotypes. The two suffer different obstacles. Jay is worried that
Gloria's close attachment to her son might make her reconsider
sending Manny to Colombia by himself. He has to pull all of the stops
to make sure that Manny is able to get on board. This creates some
pretty good comedic scenes. At the end, he's the one that really ends
up missing Manny. On the other side, Phil and Claire have to find a
way to get their kids to change dates. This task is largely left up
to Phil. Phil tries his best to manipulate Alex into changing the
dates she helps Habitat for Humanity by making her feel guilty for
going so far away. When he needs her to change again, he basically
makes the point that he has to learn to let go and she has to become
independent. The reason he has to change is because Luke refuses to
budge because he likes a girl. As for Haley, Phil has to bribe her
before threatening her. In the end, he's able to get what he wants.
I'll admit I was a little confused during the episode because Phil
talked about Haley going back to school. Since she had graduated high
school but been kicked out of college, it seemed like a continuity
disconnection. It's possible I had forgotten that she had decided to
attend community college from last season but it would have been nice
to have gotten a reminder. It has been three months after all.
Overall, these two plots were solid on their own but they really
weren't anything special. They had their moments but they were
predictable.
Modern Family Season Four
Modern Family
Season Four
(2012-2013)
- Bringing Up Baby
- Schooled
- Snip
- The Butler's Escape
- Open House of Horrors
- Yard Sale
- Arrested
- Mistery Date
- When a Tree Falls
- Diamond in the Rough
- New Year's Eve
- Party Crasher
- Fulgencio
- A Slight at the Opera
- Heart Broken
- Bad Hair Day (Mini-Review)
- Best Men
- The Wow Factor
- The Future Dunphys
- Flip Flop
- Career Day
- My Hero
- Games People Play
- Goodnight Gracie
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