Category Archives: Theories

“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: “Homeland,” “Parks and Recreation,” and what 2012 holds in store

December 20, 2011 – 11:08 pm

Mo Ryan and I are back, this time with two special returning guests. Todd VanDerWerff and Alyssa Rosenberg join us to discuss the first season of “Homeland,” the fourth season of “Parks and Recreations,” and issues related to the enjoyment of long-form televised narrative in general. No time breakdowns this […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Homeland, Parks and Recreation, Podcasts | Comments (0)

Funny business: Critical analysis of television comedies, Part 1

October 20, 2011 – 6:22 pm

The first in a occasional series in which myself and Myles McNutt will post a series of emails in which we delve into a particular topic with enough depth to give readers the bends…
Ryan McGee: So Myles…Ryan here. You know me. I’m that guy from that thing. And you’re the guy who makes me […]

By Ryan McGee | Comments (5)

‘Ringer’: Why being ‘critic-proof’ hurts fans as well as shows themselves

September 12, 2011 – 2:37 pm

So when is a review not a review?
It’s a question that’s both rhetorical and practical. I don’t mean to get into a heavy, esoteric, epistemological analysis of what constitutes a review. But as someone who tries to keep a finger on the pulse of the way television is written about, it’s a fair question all […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Ringers, Reviews | Comments (4)

The burdens of audience expectations and economic realities in “Smallville” and “Game of Thrones”

May 14, 2011 – 11:09 am

I come not to bury “Smallville,” but lightly praise it. Kinda. Having a ten-year run of anything these days is impressive, with the 21st-century littered with far more first season flame-outs than anything approaching the longevity of this show. It hasn’t been in my Must See rotation since Season 5, and even by then I […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Game of Thrones, Smallville | Comments (9)

On “Community” and the illusion of the shared cultural conversation

April 22, 2011 – 11:01 am

I thought I’d written all I was going to write about “Community” a few weeks ago. And in many ways, I have. But reaction last night on Twitter to my insta-reaction on “Paradigms of Human Memory” has me on here using the episode as a springboard to discuss something else that’s been on my mind […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Community | Comments (34)

Lost: Season 5 Predictions

June 9, 2008 – 9:57 pm

Methinks the show will follow two paths: one on the Island, one off.
Want to know where those paths lead? Read all about it, here and here.

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Zap2It, Lost | Comments (0)

They Call Me Mr. List-Tastic

February 28, 2008 – 12:24 am

Over on one of my other homes on the interwebs, I’m looking long and hard at lists.
Check not one, but both parts of my look at the world of lists on Lost and how they might reflect the cultural concerns of the show in general.
(You didn’t think I’d take four years of majoring in English […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Zap2It, Lost | Comments (0)

No Rorschach Test Needed

February 20, 2008 – 10:12 pm

My latest theory on Lost looks to Alan Moore’s Watchmen for inspiration. So, instead of doing one icon of pop culture injustice, I’m doing harm to two at once. And since I sort dump on the big bads of two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s seven seasons in the same entry, I guess I hit […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Buffy, Zap2It, Lost | Comments (0)

“Lost”: Time goes by…so slowly…

February 10, 2008 – 12:51 pm

(Cross-posted over at Zap2It’s Guide to Lost.)
Over the last two weeks, I’ve seen a marked increase in reader email. Some emails are supportive, which is fantastic. Others take the tone of “I don’t believe in time travel, but if I did, I would go back in time and make sure your parents never conceived you.” […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Zap2It, Podcasts, Lost | Comments (0)

Making a list…

February 5, 2008 – 10:01 pm

..but don’t worry, not in a scary Jacob sorta way.
To say I’ve been mentally overwhelmed by the premiere of Lost is an understatement. I’ve not been a loss for words; in fact, I have so many that starting to write them down proved a challenge. Throw in the Super Bowl and the Beanpot tournament here […]

By Ryan McGee | Also posted in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Commercials, 411, Wee-Views, Lost | Comments (0)