What’s behind the curtain?
Pop Thruster
Your pop culture afterburner – fueling obsessive pop culture projects and deeply opinionated coverage of TV, movies, and music.
Torchwood: Miracle Day, “End of the Road”: complications are not drama
A moment of crisis.
Torchwood, “Dead of Night”: soul for the soulless
Torchwood, “Dead of Night”: soul for the soulless
Top Shot, “Sweating Bullets”: hitting the mark
The only thing larger than the stakes are the egos.
Top Seven Doctor Who Christmas Specials of All Time
Or, you know, the top seven Doctor Who specials over a seven-year period.
Top Chef: Texas, “The Heat Is On”: the bubbles burst
The finalists for the show get narrowed down to 16… wait, 17?
Top Chef: Just Desserts, “Villa Rosa”: gumming up the works
The dessert masters have to whip up confections for reality royalty.
Top Chef: Just Desserts, “Sweet Symphony”: harmony and sweet discord
The pastry chefs have to think progressive and together.
Top Chef: Just Desserts, “Showpiece”: spatulas set to stun
Master pastry chefs step up their game for Season Two.
Top Chef Masters, “The Buffet Must Go On”: Viva Las Vegas
When is “gourmet buffet” NOT an oxymoron?
Top 50 TV Shows of 50 United States
The idea is to do a fun sweep around our great nation and try to pluck out some familiar shows in regional locales and some surprise selections as well.
Ton of Cash, “If Lakes Could Kill”: Jonny’s bananas
“I’m no Lance Armstrong or anything. I mean I have two nuts. But I can ride a bike three and a half miles.” – Chuck
Ton of Cash, “A Ton of Cash”: giving ’em a run for their money
“I’m basically all the Jersey Shore kids in one.” – Chuck
Tia & Tamera, “Two’s A Crowd”: self-generated issues
Why do people like to create problems for themselves where they don’t exist?
Tia & Tamera, “The Wedding Forecast: Rain”: mini melting down
Contrary to popular belief, having a twin doesn’t always mean they will understand you or be there for you.
Sister Wives, “Third Wife in Labor”: and baby Truley makes 21
“I’m not going to be kissing my girlfriend while my wife is in labor!” – Kody
The Tudors, “Bottom of the Pot”: beheadings on a swivel
Despite some redeeming qualities, we’re in for yet another dreary series of beheadings to endure.
The Tudors, “Natural Ally”: my own sweet little fool
“The quiet mind… tell me a single soul who has ever found it.” – Lord Surrey
The Tudors, “Something For You”: it will go to the devil
While staying roughly true to history, we’re suffering story-wise at this point as we’ve seen it all before.
The Tudors, “Sister”: like two sparrows
Henry’s getting older, his wives are getting younger (plural).
The Tudors, “Moment of Nostalgia”: I find it full of mean creatures
Fun and engaging, but let’s hope things don’t devolve into a dreary Countdown to the Beheading.
The T.O. Show, “Under The Knife”: countdown to failure
“I don’t know if this is a sign from God telling me to retire.” – Terrell Owens
The Shield, Season Two: civilian audits and money trains
In our look at The Shield’s second season, we consider the characterization of bureaucracy, the existence of criminal money trains and the growth of Ronnie Gardocki.
The Shield, Season One: original sin and Vic Mackey steps on stage
The first in a multi-part retrospective look at Shawn Ryan’s seminal police drama The Shield.
The Secret Circle, “Pilot”: witchy women
The CW and Executive Producer Kevin Williamson turn to the supernatural once again, this time focusing on witches.
The River, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”: Lincoln assassination
The River might not be a great show, but it is a successful one.
The River, “Marbeley”: jungle bear
The bear that traveled thousands of miles.
The River, “Magus”: evil and magic on the Amazon
This is definitely not the river of dreams.
The River, “Los Ciegos”: are they worthy?
It’s Day 12 and the search for Dr. Emmet Cole continues in the Amazonian jungle.
The Real World, D.C., “Bitch Begins With Bi”: Erika v. Ashley
“Everyone looks at me like I’m the bitch, or something.” – Erika
The Real World, “Sisterhood and Brotherly Love”: oh, those cheese steaks of yore
The drama seems to have been wrung out of this iteration of The Real World.
The Real World (New Orleans): “Over Knight”: gators in the boat
“You’re only good for one thing.” – Knight to Jemmye
The Real World (New Orleans), “Au Revoir Nawlins”: never oppose Louisiana’s appetite
“It all just got really real there for a second.” – Eric
The Real Housewives of Orange County, “He Said What?”: needs more zombies
Bring on the undead invasion — these women have sapped my will to live.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey, “Portrait of an Italian Family”: oh no she didn’t!
The Giudices and the Gorgas unite for a family portrait, Jacqueline finally gives up on Ashley, and Teresa’s new cookbook stirs up drama.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey, “Belly Up & Up”: inner goddesses
Teresa and Ashley: leave the vinegar at home — you need to use honey sometimes to get people on your side.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, “Blame It on the Altitude”: skis the limit
The BH bunch heads to Colorado for some ski time.
The Rachel Zoe Project, “New Beginnings, Big Changes”: bananas and a baby
The stylist to the stars is finally with child, but will she slow down at all?
South Park, “The Poor Kid”: a wink at the South Park of old
“We are all just one Pabst Blue Ribbon away from being White Trash In Trouble.” – Narrator
The Pillars of the Earth, “Anarchy”: struggling in adaptation
What we see on Starz unfortunately pales in comparison to the book – at least thus far – in terms of storytelling power and coherence and overall entertainment value.
The Pauly D Project, “Hello Pressure! I’m Pauly D”: yeeeeahhh budddyyy
Biggy is scared to tell his girlfriend that he will be moving to Las Vegas.
The Pacific: HBO’s dark, gripping bookend to Band of Brothers
The further I got lost in the harrowing and exhausting depths of HBO’s The Pacific, the more I began to understand its genius.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, “Storytelling”: big apple tricks
New York City plays host to the next stage of the Iron Chef competition.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, “Primal: Heat and Meat”: the elements will get you
The Food Network stacks the cast in the latest season of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs.
The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, “Improvisation”: so an octopus met a marshmallow…
Can the judges make quick work of some zany ingredients?
The Marriage Ref, “Sarah Silverman, Matthew Broderick, Martin Short”: call of booty
“I’m gonna go husband, but I think they should get divorced.” – Sarah Silverman
The Lying Game, “Pilot”: The Parent Trap with a twist
“You might look like Sutton, but you don’t kiss like her.” – Ethan
The Little Couple, “Will You Be My Surrogate?” and “See You Later, Alligator?”: one step closer
In the season opener of The Little Couple we pick up right where we left off in the season finale earlier this year. Jen and Bill are about to meet with their potential surrogate, Cindy, and her husband James.
The Great Human Race: NatGeo gets back to ancient school basics
The concept of The Great Human Race is simple and clever: drop two people on different points on the “migratory route” of human history — from Africa to North America — and see what happens.
The Great Food Truck Race, “What Happens in Vegas”: taco-flavored kisses
A second season of Food Network’s food truck race speeds into action.