Society giving me a thumbs-up ^^
Thanks, everyone. You know who you are. It’s been a blast this past year, from the very first review–Orange Is the New Black Season 1–to the last, and I’ve certainly grown as a writer and as a thinker over these last 365 days and 425 posts. The fact that I have more posts than days in a year is a reflection of me having too much time on my hands, and the amount of spam comments I’ve had filtered out–a lot–ensures that the Internet is working perfectly.
Again, thanks. I’ll have a lot of material coming up soon, whether it’s TV shows that have ended–Veronica Mars, Buffy, Deadwood, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Rome, The Wire, etc.–or shows that are returning for the fall season. I look forward to angrily denouncing the Emmys on Monday when certain people somehow win awards.
–A polar bear
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-This is probably the least vague I’ve ever been about photo credits:
Photo credit: http://www.themartiniway.com/2012/10/making-everyone-happy/
-Thanks, Internet, for allowing me to steal pictures of various shows.
-Why “polar bears watch TV”? I’m a polar bear.
-My favorite show to review? Maybe FNL or Rectify or Hannibal. Easiest? Veronica Mars. Most interesting to actually try and analyze? Nathan for You. Most difficult? Game of Thrones, although to be honest, maybe that’s because I’m far from a huge fan. Quickest I’ve ever written a review? ~35 minutes, which is extremely rare. Favorite reviews? There are a few: FNL‘s “The Son”, Hannibal‘s “Mizumono”, Mad Men’s “Time Zones”, The Leftovers‘s “Pilot”, Wilfred’s “Resistance/Happiness”, Her, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
-Abigail Spencer favorited a tweet of mine. She’s pretty.
–In addition, my polls all utilize the same words: “compelling”, “it was a mixed bag”, “it was disappointing”, “moving”, “heartbreaking”, etc. I am lazy.
-I don’t think I’ve ever given out anything lower than a C-. I really should be grading shows against themselves, but alas, I feel bad about low grades.
-I wonder what words/phrases I use most often in reviews. I know there are several reviewer cliches–“so and so does great work here”, “cliche” (ironic, isn’t it)–that I utilize, although I don’t remember using “move the pieces around” that much. I seem fond of the word “heartbreaking”.
-What I love about TV is the fact that it’s weekly, that we can get more of a slow buildup over time, that our reviews of each episode can include spoilers (unlike film, which isn’t a knock against film, but was the reason why I included a spoiler space in each of my film reviews). Anyway, I just saw Boyhood, and it was wonderful.
-Here’s to another year. I’m hoping to put together a list of TV/film crushes soon, and maybe even review a fake show (you’ll see).
Polar Bears Watch TV 
Some of us are fine with film reviews with spoilers!
Congrats on making it a year! That’s it for the exclamation points!
I always find it weird how a non-celebrity can have something like interactions with celebrities on Twitter. During one week, I got retweeted by Amanda Palmer (my dream woman) and replied to by Richard Wiseman (I was a psychology major and he is one of the most fun and interesting psychologists on the planet). It felt very strange.
I have a question for you that you didn’t answer: Have you ever seen something that then you couldn’t even figure out how to review? (I’m trying to figure out how weird I am on this subject.)
Yeah, definitely. I like them, although they’re rare to come by considering most of the professional reviewers review the movies before they come out and therefore have to limit spoilers.
Do you mean something I just ended up not reviewing at all? Or that it took a really long time, but eventually still figured out how to review?
And thanks!
Either way, but particularly if there is something you never reviewed at all. For example: I never wrote a review of “Gravity,” because I still have no idea what Cuaron was saying, but I think he was saying something, so I can’t rip him for saying nothing. (Plus I think he generally knows what he’s doing–I did after all have a poster from one of his films on my wall for years.)
Yeah, that’s definitely happened. Off the top of my head, it did for The Grand Budapest Hotel, which I just ended up not reviewing. There was a Community episode I skipped as well.
Congrats on the milestone. Keep up the good and hard work. While some people are hesitant to give so much work into stuff they’d be afraid would be lost under the big dogs of pop culture coverage or just not passionate enough, it’s great to see folks like yourself who keep on trucking. Friday Night Lights is probably my favourite show of all-time myself, so it’s great to see someone who has just as much appreciation for it. While the Wire is up there for me, it’s certainly a different show I just binged watched and though I think it’s one of the greatest shows made, FNL just came at a time in my life where I needed it. I’m also a huge fan of The OC, Ed, Happy Endings, New Girl, Nathan for You, Parenthood, Breaking Bad, Survivor, The Office, Friday Night Dinner and others which I’m obviously neglecting to remember so late at night. Thanks again for putting in the blood, sweat and tears and keep writing with clear eyes and a full heart.
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I didn’t watch FNL when it aired, but I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing it these past few months. Truly is a wonderful show.
I’ll try to get to The Wire sometime.
Congratulations on your success! 🙂 Much love and naked hugs!
Thanks!