It seems as though the television landscape has become increasingly cynical, or at least as far as Washington is concerned. Idealistic shows like The West Wing have been replaced with jaded programming that seeks to paint Capitol Hill in either darker, more sinister colors – as in House of Cards – or lighter, absurd tones, like in Veep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8nJKWJTsUg Awful. Just awful. Continue reading Galaxy Gear
Not sure what tries my patience more – the length of the teaser, or the length of time between now and February 14th. Film noir feel? Check. HBO-ness? Check. Canceled Valentine’s Day Plans? You bet. Continue reading House…of…Cards…Returns…
If The Graduate is any indication, there’s a great future in plastics, and Apple seems to think so, too. In its ad for the new iPhone 5C, “Plastic Perfected,” Apple seeks to emphasize the new phone’s “unapologetic” plasticity. Continue reading “Just One Word: Plastics”
Here’s our first episode of the Bondcast, where, true to our mission, we “make self-aggrandizing statements on things that we’re wholly unqualified to make statements about.” A brief breakdown of the ‘cast goes as follows:
I finally got around to watching this, and have come to the conclusion that Fox does harm to three groups, but benefits one niche in the process. Continue reading “Faux News”
John Paul Titlow has a neat piece on Fast Company about the conundrum Spotify faces with streaming. It’s hard for the service to afford its hefty payouts to traditional record labels while adequately compensating the up-and-coming artists or indie bands who – ideally, at least – use Spotify to gain exposure. Titlow suggests a potential route:
Yesterday, Disney announced that its profit dropped to $1.36 billion on $11.34 billion in revenue, reflecting a dip in the company’s margins, despite growing revenue. I found the earnings report fascinating in that it reflects the company’s profound diversification into non-film endeavors: the movie division booked only $234 million in profit, representing only about one-fifth … Continue reading Disney and Diversification
Netflix’s new series House of Cards is a clear attempt to craft a show to rival broadcast favorites like AMC’s Mad Men or HBO’s Game of Thrones – or anything HBO has produced, for that matter. While many broadcast networks seek to produce reality television, talent contests, or chipper comedies, cable networks – most especially the aforementioned three-letter networks – have hollowed out a niche in high quality programming that focuses on character development and period set-design, achieving a result closer to film than traditional television. And in most ways, House of Cards is a fitting entrant to the ranks.
Silicon Spatula 