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“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: The Key To The Lost Girl on Smash River

Ryan McGee — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:00:44 +0000

Mo Ryan and I are back, with four shows in this week’s extra-long edition. Yes, even for us, this is pretty long. We fight about “Smash.” A lot. But in a good, healthy way.

Time stamps:

“Lost Girl”: 0:00 -16:32

“Key and Peele”: 16:32 - 24:12

“The River”: 24:12 - 35:50

“Smash”: 35:50 - End

Music: “Cry Me a River,” Justin Timberlake

As per usual, you can subscribe to the podcast here. Subscribing is your best option to ensure you get all episodes of “Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan” as soon as they are available. Recently, there’s been a slight lag in what iTunes store shows versus what’s actually available if you subscribe, so subscribe away to get the latest and greatest ASAP. But if you absolutely hate iTunes, here’s where to grab MP3s. Or, you can listen to it right now by hitting up the podcast’s native site here. Lots of options, y’all.

Enjoy!

“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: Goodbye, Chuck

Ryan McGee — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:47:27 +0000

Mo Ryan and I are back, with our promised epic “Chuck”-centric podcast. We look at the finale, the series of a whole, and the lessons we can glean from its five-season run in this one-hour installment.

Enjoy!

“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: The Lucky Touch of Spartacus

Ryan McGee — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:09:59 +0000

Mo Ryan and I are back with the first of two podcasts this week. Later on, we’ll do an epic “Chuck”-centric podcast. But for now, we have three shows on the docket.

Time stamps:

Touch: 0:00 - 19:00

Luck: 19:00 - 39:40

Spartacus: Vengeance: 39:40 - End

This week’s music: “You Got Lucky,” Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Enjoy!

“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: Justify My Unsupervised Alcatraz

Ryan McGee — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:56:21 +0000

Mo Ryan and I are back with an overstuffed edition of the podcast. “Justified”/”Archer” fans: I won’t have time to review the upcoming season premieres, unfortunately. I talk about everything I wanted to in tonight’s podcast. The short version? They are both stellar, and well worth your time. To hear more, check out this podcast.

Time stamps:

TCA Roundup: 0:00 - 13:09

Alcatraz: 13:09 - 23:19

Justified: 23:19 - 38:18

Archer: 38:18 - 45:36

Unsupervised: 45:36 - 52:33

Mo’s Sci-Fi Round Up (The Fades, Being Human, Misfits, Lone Girl): 52:33 - End

This week’s music: “Nearly Lost You,” Screaming Trees

Enjoy!

Five Things I Learned At The TCA 2012 Winter Press Tour

Ryan McGee — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:04:57 +0000

I’m back in Boston today, after a whirlwind weekend at the Television Critics Association 2012 Winter Press Tour. It was my first time attending such an event, and as such I spent most of my brief time there pretending like I knew exactly what I was doing lest others point, laugh, and then give me wedgies.

The TCA press tour is something many who follow television coverage online know about, but it’s still something that feels fairly foreign for those who have not attended. In no way am I now close to be an expert about the event after having spent ten days there, but I thought it might be valuable to share with you ten things that I learned while out there. Some of these things are important. Most of them are not. But they are all from my particular perspective from the event that I was lucky enough to attend in Pasadena.

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The Anti-Hero and The Anti-Anti-Hero: A Look at Cordelia Chase

Ryan McGee — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:55:13 +0000

By and large, I am far too busy to be writing for pleasure these days. It’s a good problem to have, in that I have plenty of assignments to keep me busy. But it also means seeds of essays often go unwatered as the weeks go by.

Luckily, I had just enough time, in addition to a tremendous amount of interest, to help my friend Alyssa Rosenberg with her virtual round table discussion on ways to move past the male anti-hero as the default character around which to build a show. With that thought floated out to me, one character instantly came to mind, one that I’ve rarely written about but always admired: Cordelia Chase.

To learn why I chose her, head over to Alyssa’s little slice of the interwebs and see what I had to say.

“Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan”: Lies in the Portlandia Abbey

Ryan McGee — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:14:00 +0000

Mo Ryan and I are back with our first podcast of 2012. We talk about our breaks, then get into three premieres. It’s 75 minutes of audio goodness.

Time stamps:

Intro: 0:00 - 11:40

Portlandia: 11:40 - 26:03

House of Lies: 26:03 - 41:27

Downton Abbey: 41:27 - End

This week’s music: “Our House,” Madness; “Come Together,” The Beatles

As per usual, you can subscribe to the podcast here. Subscribing is your best option to ensure you get all episodes of “Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan” as soon as they are available. Recently, there’s been a slight lag in what iTunes store shows versus what’s actually available if you subscribe, so subscribe away to get the latest and greatest ASAP. But if you absolutely hate iTunes on the same level as we hate how smart Todd and Alyssa both are, here’s where to grab MP3s. Or, you can listen to it right now by hitting up the podcast’s native site here. Lots of options, y’all.

Enjoy!

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

Ryan McGee — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:08:51 +0000

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 week, as it’s a wide-ranging discussion. But if you haven’t fully caught up on “Homeland,” this might be one to skip until you do.

This week’s music: “Crazy,” Gnarls Barkley; “The End,” The Beatles As per usual, you can subscribe to the podcast here. Subscribing is your best option to ensure you get all episodes of “Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan” as soon as they are available. Recently, there’s been a slight lag in what iTunes store shows versus what’s actually available if you subscribe, so subscribe away to get the latest and greatest ASAP. But if you absolutely hate iTunes on the same level as we hate how smart Todd and Alyssa both are, here’s where to grab MP3s. Or, you can listen to it right now by hitting up the podcast’s native site here. Lots of options, y’all.

Enjoy!

The Top 10 Shows of 2011

Ryan McGee — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:10:45 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with Top 10 lists, as I’m sure many of you do as well. But until we all collectively decide to stop writing/reading them, I suppose I can throw in my own list to the massive mix already in place. Last year, I did a massive three-part series for my Top 10 of 2010, eventually crowning “Terriers” as my Number 1 choice for that year. This time around? I’m all about efficiency. One entry to rule them all, so to speak.

I take my choices seriously, in that I could argue until I’m blue in the face why I put certain shows ahead of another. And I definitely provide some context for my choices below. But let’s all admit up front this is a fundamentally bullshit exercise, and that ranking things such as television shows is an inexact science, and that me ranking a show in a certain place isn’t an insult to you, your mother, or anyone else in your family. (Well, except you. And your mom. Because, COME ON, right?)

Without further ado…

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“Chuck” Review: “Chuck Versus The Curse”

Ryan McGee — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:28:37 +0000

Well, one of the stories tonight was Awesome. The other? Not so much.

Read my full review over at The A.V. Club!