Posted by Cory Barker on February 23, 2012 · Leave a Comment
The accused: Dexter, “The British Invasion” (Season 2, Episode 12) The crime: Allowing its lead character to avoid major consequences and therefore damaging the narrative forever How much impact, both positive and negative, can one bad episode have on an entire series? How do long-running series continue onward in the aftermath of an episodic failure? … Read more
Filed under #TVFail, DEXTER, Featured · Tagged with #TVFail, Angel Batista, Bay Harbor Butcher, C.S. Lee, Cory Barker, David Zayas, Debra Morgan, Dexter, Dexter and Deb, Dexter Doakes, Dexter Morgan, Dexter Season 1, Dexter Season 2, Dexter Season 2 Episode 12, Dexter Season 2 Finale, Dexter Season 3, Dexter Season 4, Dexter Season 5, Dexter Season 6, Dexter The British Invasion, Dexter's Code, Erik King, Frank Lundy, Harry Morgan, Ice Truck Killer, Jaime Murray, James Doakes, James Remar, Jennifer Carpenter, John Lithgow, Julie Benz, Keith Carradine, Lauren Velez, Lila West, Maria LaGuerta, Michael C. Hall, Rita Morgan, Showtime, Trinity, Trinity Killer, Vince Masuka
Posted by Cory Barker on February 23, 2012 · 2 Comments
If you follow me on Twitter, you likely know that I love professional wrestling. I get crap for it all the time, but I am not here to discuss why wrestling is unfairly disregarded as a cultural artifact or get into those obvious taste arguments. Instead, I am going to pretend that wrestling is as … Read more
Filed under Pro Wrestling, Social Media, WWE · Tagged with Chris Brown, CM Punk, CM Punk calls out Chris Brown, CM Punk Chris Brown, CM Punk Chris Brown feud, CM Punk Chris Brown Twitter, CM Punk video, Cory Barker, Eve Torres, Hoeski, John Cena, Kane, Monday Night Raw, Pro wrestling, Pro wrestling and women, Slut-shaming, Social Media, Syfy, Twitter, USA Network, Vince McMahon, WWE, WWE and social media, WWE Divas, WWE Monday Night Raw, WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown, WWE Twitter, WWE's treatment of women, Zack Ryder
Posted by Cory Barker on February 22, 2012 · 1 Comment
Watching and writing about television is a pretty painless experience in the grand scheme of things. But disregarding the world’s real problems for a moment, watching and writing about Glee can be fairly traumatic, you guys. Every time I think the series has lost its way for good, it pulls me back in with a … Read more
Filed under Episode Reviews, Featured, Glee · Tagged with Glee, Reviews, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison, Sue Sylvester, Will Schuester, Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry, Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz, Quinn Fabray, Artie Abrams, Tina Cohen-Chang, Mercedes Jones, Kurt Hummel, Santana Lopez, Noah Puckerman, Mike Chang, Brittany Pearce, Sam Evans, Chord Overstreet, Harry Shum Jr., Darren Criss, Cory Barker, Lea Michele, Blaine Anderson, Dave Karofsky, Max Adler, Damian McGinty, Glee Season 3, Glee Season 3 Reviews, Rory Flanagan, Dianna Agron, Troubletones, Jeff Goldblum, Sugar Motta, Vanessa Lengies, Glee Season 3 On My Way, Glee On My Way, Glee On My Way Review, Glee On My Way Recap, Glee Season 3 Episode 14, Glee Season 3 Episode 14 Reviews, Glee Season 3 Episode 14 Recap, Glee Mid-season finale, Glee mid-season finale review, Glee mid-season finale recap, Quinn's car accident, Quinn's car accident Glee, The Warblers, Sebastain Warblers, Sebastian Smythe, Grant Gustin, Glee Regionals
Posted by Cory Barker on February 21, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Fellow television fans/criticism consumers, I need your help. I am a part of a panel on contemporary television criticism at the upcoming Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Boston and for my presentation, I’d like input from you. If you’re interested, I would like to ask you a few questions about television criticism, … Read more
Posted by Cory Barker on February 21, 2012 · Leave a Comment
When you run in certain circles online or follow a bunch of people in the same field on Twitter, certain events or pieces become “things.” Over the last 36 hours, the “thing” has been Ryan McGee’s piece about The Sopranos and the HBO model’s impact on television narrative. McGee’s well-reasoned and detailed piece created a … Read more
Filed under Columns, Criticism, Featured · Tagged with Columns, HBO, AMC, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Sopranos, The Walking Dead, Criticism, Showtime, Cory Barker, The Killing, Unforgettable, TV Criticism, Television Criticism, We Should Take TV Seriously, Talking about television is not ruining television, Holmes on Holmes
Posted by Cory Barker on February 16, 2012 · 1 Comment
I talk television with a lot of people. Friends, family, other critics on Twitter, vagrants on the street. I just love talking about TV. Because I don’t have the time and resources to do a podcast like I used to in college, I’m going to sort of replicate that experience in textual form in a … Read more
Filed under Chitchat, Featured, The Office · Tagged with Brad Sanders, Chitchat, Cory Barker, Dunder Mifflin, Dwight Schrute, Jenna Fischer, Jim and Pam The Office, Jim Halpert, John Krasinski, Michael Scott, Pam Halpert, Rainn Wilson, Steve Carell, The Office, The Office Jim and Pam, The Office Jim and Pam suck, The Office Season 2, The Office Season 3, The Office Season 8, Unresolved sexual tension
Posted by Cory Barker on February 15, 2012 · 5 Comments
Test Pilot #37: Cupid Debut date: September 26, 1998 Series legacy: Intriguing high-concept (but not too high-concept) premise cut down not once, but twice in a decade Welcome back to Test Pilot guys and gals! With that extra-special Joss Whedon Theme Week behind us, it’s time to fall back into the typical, but still lovely … Read more
Filed under Cupid, Featured, Test Pilot · Tagged with Anthony Strand, Bobby Cannavale, Canceled TV, Chicago, Claire Allen, Claire McCrae, Connie Britton, Cory Barker, Cupid, Cupid 1998, Cupid 1998 ABC, Cupid 2009, Cupid 2009 ABC, Jeremy Piven, New York, One-season wonders, Paula Marshall, Rob Thomas, Romantic comedies, Sarah Paulson, Single season series, Test Pilot, Trevor Hale, Trevor Pierce, Veronica Mars, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Posted by Cory Barker on February 15, 2012 · 1 Comment
By now, you know that my schedule/workload/life changes keep me from writing as much as I would like here at TV Surveillance. Of all series I miss writing about, Glee someone still tops the list (well, since Community is still trapped out there in the ether). I don’t even understand how that’s really true, but … Read more
Filed under Episode Reviews, Featured, Glee · Tagged with Ali Adler, Amber Riley, Amber Riley I Will Always Love You, Artie Abrams, Blaine Anderson, Brian Stoke Mitchell, Brittany Pearce, Burt Hummel, Chord Overstreet, Chris Colfer, Cory Barker, Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Dave Karofsky, Emma Pillsbury, Finn Hudson, Glee, Glee covers Whitney Houston, Glee Heart, Glee Heart Recap, Glee Heart Review, Glee Season 3, Glee Season 3 Episode 13, Glee Season 3 Episode 13 Recap, Glee Season 3 Episode 13 Review, Glee Whitney Houston, Glee Whitney Houston Tribute, Harry Shum Jr., Heather Morris, Ian Brennan, Jane Lynch, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin McHale, Kurt Hummel, Lea Michele, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, Mercedes I Will Always Love You, Mercedes Jones, Mike Chang, Mike O'Malley, Naya Rivera, Noah Puckerman, Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, Rory Flanagan, Ryan Murphy, Sam Evans, Samuel Larsen, Santana Lopez, Silly Love Songs, Sue Sylvester, Sugar Motta, The Glee Project, The God Squad, Tina Cohen-Chang, Vanessa Lengies, Whitney Houston, Will Schuester
Posted by Cory Barker on February 14, 2012 · 1 Comment
Welcome back to the Showrunner Series, an occasional TVS feature where I discuss the work of one or more major television voice(s). When a great, popular television series says goodbye, members of that series’ writing staff are going to be hot commodities. They’re going to be asked to run their own series, pitch their own … Read more
Filed under Featured, LOST, Once Upon a Time, Showrunner Series · Tagged with ABC, Adam Horowitz, Archie Hopper, Belle, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Carlton Cuse, Charlie Pace, Cory Barker, Damon Lindelof, David Nolan, Edward Kitsis, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Emma Swan, Evil Queen, Flashbacks, Friends, Ginnifer Goodwin, Henry Mills, Hill Street Blues, Hugo Reyes, Jamie Dornan, Jared S. Gilmore, Jennifer Morrison, Jiminy Crickett, Josh Dallas, Lana Parrilla, LOST, Mary Margaret Blanchard, Mr. Gold, Narrative, Once Upon a Time, Once Upon a Time ABC, Prince Charming, Regina Mills, Robert Carlyle, Rumpelstiltskin, Self-awareness, Sheriff Graham, Showrunner Series, Snow White, Structure, The Huntsman, The X-Files, Tron: Legacy, Writers rooms
Posted by Cory Barker on February 7, 2012 · 2 Comments
I talk television with a lot of people. Friends, family, other critics on Twitter, vagrants on the street. I just love talking about TV. Because I don’t have the time and resources to do a podcast like I used to in college, I’m going to sort of replicate that experience in textual form in a … Read more
Filed under Chitchat, Featured, Parks and Recreation · Tagged with Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Andy Dwyer, April Ludgate, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Ben Wyatt, Bobby Newport, Chitchat, Chris Pratt, Chris Traeger, City Countil, Cory Barker, Elections, Entertainment 720, Knope 2012, Les Chappell, Leslie Knope, Michael Schur, NBC, Parks and Recreation, Parks and Recreation Season 4, Paul Rudd, Pawnee, Pawnee Indiana, Rob Lowe, The Wire, Tom Haverford, Will they or won't they
