I didn’t watch a lot of TV this year. Yes, I’ve heard about that show. Did you see how much YouTube I watched? I do have a couple of highlights but if you watched more than five TV shows, you’ve watched more than me this year.
Category: TV
Conversations with the Doctor
Have I talked about my relationship with Doctor Who on this site before? Twice before apparently following Capaldi’s departure. I’ve talked about why I think shifting demographics of heroes is important and talked about the Doctor there. However, I think there is a deeper conversation to be had about the Doctor as a character specifically. Anyway, a brief recap of my history with Doctor Who. I started watching in the Davies era around the end of series 3. From there, I watched all of Davies’ era. My favourite episodes of the show in that era were the ones penned by Steven Moffat. However, as I grew along the series, I grew frustrated with Moffat’s era seeming to tell the same five stories and features only three kinds of women (which I feel could be dubbed ‘the Doctor’s girlfriend’, ‘the Doctor’s mother’, and ‘the Doctor’s wife’). Anyway, within me, there was the idea that I would return to the series once Moffat stepped away. So, here I am, on the other side of the tunnel. Let’s talk about the first female Doctor.
A Series of Unfortunate Events in the Trump Era
So, I’ve just started watching Netflix’s adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events because I’m always six months behind the conversation. Earlier this year, the second season dropped and I’ve been enjoying it more than the first. Now, I did read the series when I was younger. My memory of the books is hazy but from my memories, the show is rather faithful. The area in which it probably differs the most is in expanding the role of the adults in the series. Now, as I made my way through the series I had a thought. A Series of Unfortunate Events reflects the Trump era in an interesting way. Now for me to explain why I am going to spoil both series to a point. The discussion of the series will probably spoil The Vile Village and all preceding episodes. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
How Do We Solve a Problem Like Apu?
So, I’m a big fan of the Simpsons. The classic era is one of my favourite shows. Recently, the Simpsons responded to the criticism it received over its caricatured portrayal of Apu. This response was prompted by Hari Kondabolu’s documentary about South East Asian American representation ‘The Problem with Apu’. In the documentary, Kondabolu interviews notable South East Asian American actors regarding their feelings about the character of Apu. This documentary included Kal Penn, who you may know as Kumar from Harold and Kumar or as Kutner from House, whose intense dislike of Apu extended to the Simpsons as a whole. Kondabolu himself enjoys the Simpsons but finds the character of Apu to be a racist stain on the show.
Best TV Shows of 2017
So, once more the Earth makes it way around the Sun. 2017 was tumultuous, to say the least. However, as we approach 2018 and the day that Disney finally buys everything under the sun, it’s time to get introspective about the pop culture we loved this year. Joining me this year is my partner, Zoe, as we reflect on the pop culture on the past year.
YouTubers Who Inspire Me
So, YouTube is a thing. Like all Internet things, it can be hard to navigate the area without some guidance. So, I’ve come here to guide you through possibly the first part in a series about the YouTubers who have educated and influenced me. If any of them interest you, be sure to give them a look.
‘Rick and Morty’ and the Ship of Theseus
[Note: This piece contains spoilers for Rick and Morty episodes, SE3E01 ‘The Rickshank Redemption’ and SE3E08 ‘Morty’s Mind Blowers’.]
So, this season of Rick and Morty has been interesting. After blazing through season one and two on Netflix, I came to Rick and Morty this year watching week to week (though I waited until multiple episodes were out before beginning). This season, as opposed to previous seasons, I find myself delving deeper into the ideas of Rick and Morty. Now, something happened in the first episode that shocked me. Something that I thought would never happen.
Gender Bending – Why Does It Matter?
[Author’s Note: Because of the readily available information on film, Hollywood, and demographics of America, most statistics given are relevant to that scope. However, that doesn’t undermine the central point, if anything it makes it stronger with the monolithic nature of American culture in the current world landscape.]
So, the somewhat recent Doctor Who recasting sparked a wildfire of debate about gender bending traditionally masculine characters. Now, look, in my original draft of this piece I was very unfair towards those who were against the decision. I want this article to be more even handed, because I get how it can seem. If you focus on what is being taken away, it can seem unfair. Like Dudley Dursley bemoaning that he has one less present than last year, rather than focusing on the increased size of some of the presents. You know.
Why I Fell Out of Love with Doctor Who
[Author’s Note: Major spoilers for seasons one through eight of the revived series of Doctor Who.]
[Author’s Note: This piece was written before the announcement of the new Doctor was made. Will the change in casting be enough to bring me back? Maybe. Depends on the writing. First step would probably be to hire more women writers.]
Okay, so we’re doing this. So let’s set up some context for this. I used to watch Doctor Who, which you could probably surmise from the title. I’m no mega-fan. I jumped in on season three of the revived series, watched the back catalogue and started watching contemporaneously around the time of the season four specials.
Similarly to Game of Thrones, I fell out of love with the series. The difference being that I stopped watching Game of Thrones following what I considered, and what is widely considered, to be the worst season. I stopped watching Doctor Who following season eight, whereas I believe that season seven is the worst season across the series.
Now, I laid out a lot of hate against the showrunners in my last article of this type. I could certainly do that in this article but I will restrain myself, despite the showrunner being, in my mind, more egregiously full of contempt for his audience. Oh boy, already I’m on the attack.
The Man in the High Castle Has Some Interesting Things to Say About America
[Author’s note: Article will contain spoilers for Season 1 of The Man in the High Castle]
Ok, so recently I’ve been bingeing The Man in the High Castle, a show that details an alternate history wherein the Nazis won World War 2 and kerb stomped half of America into becoming a part of the Third Reich. In the series, we see that the Nazis controls from the east coast of America to the Rocky Mountains. Japan controls from the west coast to the Rocky Mountains, with the space in between being a neutral buffer zone. The show concerns the ongoing intrigue and power wrangling between the Nazis, the Japanese, and the Resistance.
Zach Eastwood - Writer 