With the second season of House of Cards released on Netflix on Feb. 14, it’s worth taking a look back at the lessons we have learned from Congressman Francis Underwood in season one. 1. Accept Pain: “There are two kinds of pain: the sort of pain that makes you strong or useless pain, the sort… Continue reading Screen Time: Lessons from House of Cards
Tag: Screen Time
Screen Time: One murder mystery too many on TV
What is it about murder mystery shows that fascinates us as an audience? Is it the reminder of our own mortality? The look into humanity’s dark nature? Is it the self-affirming knowledge that something bad has happened to someone else? Murder mysteries and police procedurals have experienced a dedicated fan base over the decades. Shows… Continue reading Screen Time: One murder mystery too many on TV
Screen Time: Driving the S.H.I.E.L.D. bus
It was inevitable that Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would have to face an existential crisis: is it a Marvel movie in television form or a Joss Whedon show — a question I raised in a previous column. Five weeks in and comments around the Internet are predictably divided, between continued excitement and rising disappointment. A… Continue reading Screen Time: Driving the S.H.I.E.L.D. bus
Screen Time: Love, swords and children
A slew of strong female characters have spread rapidly across movies and television shows in the last few years. They’re smart, they’re sexy and they can beat up just about anyone — including the majority of the male cast. A prime example of this trend is ABC’s Once Upon A Time with the show’s cast… Continue reading Screen Time: Love, swords and children
Screen Time: Fall television preview, part two
In the last part of my fall television column I previewed four shows I was looking forward to this fall: The Blacklist, Sleepy Hollow, Dracula and Almost Human. This week I look at a show that should have been included last week: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Often called this fall’s most… Continue reading Screen Time: Fall television preview, part two
Screen Time: Fall television preview, part one
There’s a long list of new television shows this fall all vying for your procrastination. Some will be worth your time, others won’t. Over the next couple weeks, I’m going to break down a number of new shows and help you decide where it’s worth wasting time rather than studying. This week I’ll start with… Continue reading Screen Time: Fall television preview, part one
Screen Time: Playing it safe
Predictions about Hollywood’s demise, or about fundamental shifts in the way studios produce movies, seem to arise summer after summer as the media and the Internet respond to various box office failures. But not much has drastically changed for Hollywood since the introduction of 3D, despite what doomsayers say. Six major films “flopped” at the… Continue reading Screen Time: Playing it safe
Screen Time: Why we should be excited about Canadian television
Two years ago, if I listed off my favourite shows, not one of them would have been Canadian. As a Canadian, I would still have rather watched American television than Canadian television. But that has changed recently. A handful of Canadian shows have been getting attention, two science fiction shows in particular. This year has… Continue reading Screen Time: Why we should be excited about Canadian television
Screen Time: Balancing serial and procedural
Scripted television comes in two flavours: the serial variety and the procedural variety. Serial television shows follow storylines across an entire season. Procedural shows offer individual storylines within a single episode. A show’s identity and audience appeal is usually determined by which category it fits into. Some successful serials do manage to balance season-long story… Continue reading Screen Time: Balancing serial and procedural