Appointment Television

Latest Episodes:

Episode 037: In Praise of iZombie and Food on TV May 12, 2016

Show notes

After an impressively great second season, we talk about what makes CW's zombie procedural mystery iZombie so much fun. Shows that meld procedural beats with long arc stories over the course of a season are so hard to pull off well, so we talk about what makes iZombie work, and how strong its season finale was.

We jump from there to a discussion of the delightful food prep montages on iZombie, and then broaden our consideration of how TV depicts food. Margaret brings up Hannibal, Andrew talks about Bob's Burgers, and Kathryn raises her fists in fury at yet another dumb House of Cards food scene. In an attempt to find a baseline for what we consider to be "good" and "bad" food, Andrew asks us to name our worst meals. Kathryn's is pretty troubling.

Episode 036: The Myers-Briggs Hat and Kimmy Schmidt Season 2 May 05, 2016

Show notes

This week we dive into the real-world Sorting Hat that is the Myers-Briggs personality test, where we find out what personality traits we share and which we don't (spoilers: Margaret and Kathryn are polar opposites).

Then we dive into the second season of Tiny Fey and Robert Carlock's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a sophomore season that starts weak but picks up steam as it chugs along. Tina Fey isn't always the best at taking criticism, but damn can she deliver a funny one-liner.

Episode 035: The Appeal of the Rewatch and Historical TV Apr 28, 2016

Show notes

Thanks to a question from a listener, Andrew, Margaret and Kathryn revisit the idea of rewatches and try to take apart exactly what draws us to rewatching certain series, episodes, and scenes. We think about Mad Men, Outlander, Veronica Mars, and the pleasures of doing research on the shows we love.

Next, inspired by our Americans book club, we consider historical television series, and think about the differences between historical miniseries and open-ended historical series. We talk about Outlander, Wolf Hall, Downton Abbey, John Adams, The Hour, and more. What is the difference between a miniseries and a series in this instance? How are television shows influenced by their source material? Aren't all histories false narratives we impose on events to make ourselves feel good? And also - Margaret makes a near-fatal error.

Episode 034: Sorting Jane the Virgin, The Americans S01E10-13, and #Winestunts Apr 21, 2016

Show notes

Big episode this week! First off, Andrew is continuing his #Winestunts odyssey from last week, which as Kathryn pointed out was something that he chose to inflict upon himself. It results in a lot of love.

While that continues, the crew introduces a new segment in which they sort their favorite TV characters into their probable Hogwarts houses, starting with perennial favorite Jane the Virgin. And we come to the thrilling, wig-tastic conclusion to the first season of FX's The Americans. Enjoy!

Episode 033: Apology Tour and Hating the One They're With Apr 14, 2016

Show notes

In response to all of the lovely reviews and apology requests we've received, we do a tour through some listener apologies, and Andrew makes a bid for even more apologies by voicing some thoughts about Firefly. In our long segment this week, we talk about what happens to a television show when a TV love interest alienates viewers. We consider Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars, as well as Sex and the City, Friends, and more. Are all male-centered love triangles dramas, while female-centered ones are comedies?

While we discuss this, Andrew makes good on his promise to procure and consume an entire bottle of Tituss Burgess's Kimmy Schmidt-inspired wine, Pinot by Tituss. #WineStunts ensue.

Episode 032: The Babineaux and The Americans S01E06-09 Apr 07, 2016

Show notes

Lots of genre shows have a character who isn't in on the central secret - not because they're dumb, usually, but because of contrivances that serve the plot. We've dubbed this archetype "The Babineaux" in honor of one of our favorite recent examples.

After that, we talk out the next leg of our TV Book Club discussion of FX's The Americans. The tension amps up in this run of episodes, and episode nine in particular begins a steady escalation that will carry us all the way to the finale.

Special guest Sophie Brookover joins us this week to help us talk everything out! You can read more of her and Margaret's work in the weekly Two Bossy Dames newsletter, which you can find at www.tinyletter.com/twobossydames.

Episode 031: Tossing Salads and the Unicorn Age of Comedy Mar 31, 2016

Show notes

Once again we return to our Hatewatch segment, which this week, we're calling Hatewatch of Cards. Kathryn talks about House of Cards' most recent season and one particular meal prepared by Claire Underwood. We also kick off our Apology Tour with an apology that's been a long time coming.

For our long segment, we consider Mo Ryan's recent Variety piece on the dominance of television comedies, and talk about whether comedy is ascendant on TV today, and why. We breeze through a long list of amazing comedy on TV right now, talk about TV drama's over-reliance on sad white men, and think about whether comedy ages better than drama.

Episode 030: TV of Our Bygone Youth and The Americans S01E02-05 Mar 24, 2016

Show notes

This week we all learn more about each other and ourselves by talking about all the kids' TV we watched as kids. Some of those relationships were healthier than others.

Then, we move on to a still-entertaining but much bleaker subject: episodes two through five of the first season of FX's The Americans.

Episode 029: The Problem of Network TV Ads and Spring TV Updates Mar 17, 2016

Show notes

Inspired by a recent article by Sydney Ember about the changing role of advertisements on network TV, we consider the problems of the network TV ad model more broadly. Should there be sponsored segments? Should there be native advertisement? Should shows just run longer to cram more marketing goodness in? We then look at the spate of current and upcoming TV offerings. Andrew complains about Game of Thrones, Kathryn recommends Outlander, and Margaret reveals some surprising information about Jackie Chan.

ATV APB: Wine Matthews and Pinot Noir Mar 15, 2016

Show notes

Today's APB is all about wine, specifically viewed through the lens of Matthew Goode and Matthew Rhys' thoroughly charming-looking Wine Show and a certain actor's new line of pinot noir.

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