Between its fantastic bookends, “Two Swords” is everything you would expect from a healthy HBO drama entering its fourth season: statements of intention, an occasional piece of exposition, and a lot of resetting the board for a new game of intrigue, brutality, and maybe even a little glimmer of hope.
HBO's wildly popular epic fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for season four tonight. Your High Valyrian getting a little bit rusty? Can't quite remember which old white dude with a beard is which? Never fear, Dork Shelf is here with our Game of Thrones Season Four Primer.
When Dr. Lecter is plucking the strings and writing the notes, Hannibal is thrilling, unpredictable and disgustingly beautiful to look at. In “Futamono” we get all of that, some meta humor, and the most disturbingly delicious looking human leg eaten on network TV. Also a fun dinner party.
“G.I. Jeff” constantly delivers nostalgic 80’s animated fan service, but Community has set a strong precedent for making these fun departures into character exploration exercises, so there is an implied mystery afoot as well: Who is imagining this? Why? And does it matter?
HBO’s Silicon Valley is exceptional. The jokes are highbrow and smart without being condescending or pandering, the emotional struggles are hooky without exploiting a central romance, and the episode premises and characters offer fresh takes on comedy staples without seeming overly familiar. But where are all the ladies?
HBO's landmark series is one of the best things on television. Even for those who don't watch television.
“Mukozuke” succeeds in providing the contemplative space that other serial killer centric shows don’t. It’s a case study in what we will let our icons get away with and what makes them different from us and the fictional people they prey on.
Going through True Detective withdrawal? Good news! To help get you through this rough time, we’ve compiled a list of five miniseries to fill that empty spot in your heart with.
The finale was a beautiful end to the best season of Girls so far. Along with Dunham, Judd Apatow has helped create the second chapter in his experimental analysis of generational distress. Whether you like it or not, this is the Freaks and Geeks of the twenty-something generation. This is Lindsay Weir and Neal Schweiber wearing skinny jeans instead of puffy vests. This is Kim Kelly and Daniel Desario trying coke instead of smoking pot.
“Takiawase” is as close as we will ever get to a Jimmy, Brian and Beverly episode. Because of that it is hilarious at times, but that doesn’t prevent it from being stomach churningly disturbing, perfectly thrilling, tearfully heartbreaking and as thematically tight as a well tuned pressure cooker.
Delivering about two laughs for every one second of airtime without leaving its primary location, “Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” is about slaying the metaphorical old naked lunatic called “communication problems” who rides an invincible dragon named “family ties.”
This season Girls has become more focused than ever on using subtly themed episodes to test its characters like lab rats. The biggest thematic thread (or piece of cheese, depending on which metaphor you go with here) has been the notion of settling. This episode, the show asked some tough questions: Are you actually content, or are you unknowingly giving up a piece of yourself? Are you deluded if you’re happy with something seemingly imperfect?
“Hassun” is perfectly distilled Hannibal. It takes the conventions of a well established television format - the courtroom procedural - and mutilates it into a nightmarish message about the kind of love that compels you do horrible, violent things.
For a pretty straight forward 22 minutes that takes place in only three or four settings, “VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing” is complex and fun, but might leave some people (namely those who aren't familiar with Breaking Bad) behind as it eagerly eats its own referential tail.
A long time ago Kristen Bell was on one of the most beloved and tragically cancelled TV shows of all time. This weekend, Veronica Mars is back on the big screen and on On Demand. We got a chance to talk with her about why the time was right to make the movie, how the film's Kickstarter campaign helped them get distribution, what it was like getting the band back together, the conflicted nature of Veronica’s quest this time out, and if she really did try to smuggle a burrito into The Oscars.
